One Hot Summer Day
by missblueeyes63
Summary: Summer in Toronto, hot and humid. The team was hoping for a slow day with just two warrant calls then hopefully just inventory duty. What could happen? Well if you have a teammate by the name of Sam Braddock, then just about anything can happen. How will Sam's past and secrets collide with his present? Will he survive?
1. The Jinx

**One Hot Summer Day**

* * *

 ** _Summary:_** _Summer in Toronto, hot and humid. The team was hoping for a slow day with just two warrant calls then hopefully just inventory duty. What could happen? Well if you have a teammate by the name of Sam Braddock, then just about anything can happen. How will Sam's past and secrets collide with his present? What secrets will he uncover? Will he survive?_

 _I do not own Flashpoint nor any of the characters from that series. I do own my original characters (OC)._

* * *

 **The Jinx**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

He sat staring out the window of the briefing room. The sky was light blue with only a few puffy white clouds. The day boded to be hot and humid. Not a great day to be outfitted in long black sleeves and full tact gear. It was a day one wished to be inside dressed as they were.

Sam had been the first to finish getting ready after workout this morning. The humidity was so high everything just stuck and it felt like he hadn't even dried off after he had showered. Swiveling slightly back and forth in the briefing room chair Sam sipped his water waiting for the team to join him in the room.

"What ya thinking so hard on?" Spike asked as he entered the room.

Without turning around Sam replied "Today's gonna be a hot one."

Ed walked in at the tail end only hearing 'hot one'. "Hot one what? Find a new hot girl Samo?" Ed asked.

Sam swung around and smiled at Ed "Nah, not yet, still looking. Bit picky. No today's gonna be a hot one. Really hoping to be indoors."

Coming in and hearing only the second half of the statement Jules said "But don't you love the heat. Growing up in the desert and all?"

"Heats one thing. In the desert it was a dry heat. Here, not so much. The humidity makes 80 degrees Fahrenheit feel worse than 120 degree" Sam replied.

Greg walked in and took head count; just missing Wordy and Leah. He headed for the table and placed the folders down. He opened his water bottle and took a long drink. Greg hoped today was a slow day.

They had a two warrant calls to handle this morning. It was going to be muggy today. Might be a good day to do inventory if no hot calls came in. Wordy and Leah rounded the corner to the room and took their seats.

Greg began the briefing "Morning boys and girls. Got a few warrant calls this morning. After that we will play inside, inventory. Team Five was supposed to take care of that yesterday but they had that long standoff at the bank." He was surprised he didn't get a single groan.

Sam looked up, concern in his face "Sarge, how's Dale?"

Greg turned to Sam and replied "Sergeant Winter said Dale is being released today. Minor concussion, slight dehydration. Which reminds me. If we do get call today, everyone needs to stay hydrated. I don't want any of you taking a fall like Dale did because you pass out from the heat."

They all nodded. Poor Dale was gonna be razzed from here to eternity for this Sam thought. He was glad no one knew of his own idiocy with dehydration, luckily he never passed out here because of it. But if it hadn't been for the swim in the harbor he might have reached that point.

Sam certainly did once in Kandahar. Blaze, Winds, Mason and Patch had laid into him big time after they found him passed out in his perch. They thought he was dead when they approached him because he didn't respond. They let him have it big time when they found out he had just been stupid and not drank enough water over the three days he was there. He had tried to justify it by saying it he couldn't leave his perch. They had chided him for not being prepared or calling in the need, they were not on radio silence for Christ sake.

Ed looked to Sam and said sternly "You heard what the Boss said right? No he-man, macho, I'm an ex-JTF2 soldier so I can survive without as much water as you mere mortals antics today."

Sam wondered where the hell did that came from? "Why ya picking on me Ed?" Sam asked a bit affronted.

"Ya don't think I know do you. Harbor. Just sayin." Ed laughed at Sam's shocked expression. The rest just looked confused but Ed did not elaborate.

"But you weren't even in the …" Sam trailed off as everyone stared at him.

Crap. Caught. Sam smiled "I don't know how you do it Ed. But okay, no antics as you call them." He downed the rest of his water bottle and grabbed another from the middle of the table and drank half. "Satisfied mother hen?"

"As a matter of fact I am kiddo" Ed smirked.

Under his breathe, only heard by Spike next to him, Sam said with slight frustration "Damned old man".

Spike looked at Sam and grinned. Sam and Ed had a unique relationship. Two alphas, they were at each other's throats as much as they had each other's backs. They were like mentor and mentee, but the roles swapped all the time; each learning from the other.

Sometimes Spike worried that Sam would leave the team and become Team Leader of his own team. Sam had the qualifications for it in everything but maybe length of service. They usually liked more seasoned officers for TLs. But then, Sam was probably more seasoned than all the TLs put together with his two tours in JTF2.

Greg got the team's attention "Alright, we have two warrant calls. One is in the city proper. The other is on the outskirts. We'll handle the one in the city first so I'll cover the details for that one now. We'll regroup here and cover the second one when we are done with the first."

"This one is for Ran Long Hee. Hee is wanted in connection with supplying materials to the Onyx Tigers Syndicate for drug production. We have been called in to serve the warrant due to that association and fact there is likely to be weapons on the premises" Greg informed the team.

Ed then reviewed the location details and tactical plans that he and Sam had developed late last night.

As they were exiting the briefing room heading out to gear up to serve the warrant Spike was laughing.

Jules pushed him gently in front of her and asked "What's so funny?"

Spike's amusement grew "The guy's name."

"What's so funny about Ran Long Hee?" Leah asked. She was still new to the team and didn't quite get the humor and inside jokes they shared, there were a lot of them. They were very welcoming but she still sometimes felt on the outside.

"Put his last name first like in roll call. Hee, Ran Long" Spike smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes "Spike I swear you better not have jinxed us. It's too damned hot to run after someone today."


	2. Hee, Ran Long Warrant Call

**Hee, Ran Long Warrant Call**

* * *

 ** _Enroute to Hee Warrant Call_**

Leah was partnered with Sam today. She had only been on the team for two weeks. They sat in silence in the SUV for a long time. Leah liked Ed but didn't get why he constantly rode Sam and singled him out. Sam looked like a competent officer and he was ex-military.

The dynamic between them was weird. A week ago in debrief after a call gone bad Ed had raged at Sam. Sam sat calmly and silent, he just took it. It was unfair to say the least. It wasn't Sam's fault the guy's hand got sweaty and dropped the live grenade. Sam saved the guy, Jules and himself when he picked up the grenade and chucked it away into the river.

Then this morning again. What the hell was that all about? Ed was angry then laughing and Sam shocked then laughing. Leah sighed and shook her head.

Sam heard and glanced at her "Leah, everything okay?"

Looking at Sam, knowing it wasn't her place to say anything, but with confusion evident in her voice Leah said "You and Ed. I just don't get it."

Leah forgot that the headset was on and was surprised to hear the entire team laugh, including Sam. Would she ever get used to having every word heard by six others? Why were they all laughing?

Spike chimed in "Join the crowd."

Wordy looked at Ed and said to Leah "Ed's just special. Sam gets under his skin."

Ed smirked at Wordy and responded "Well if he weren't such a cocky kid."

Sam snorted and retorted "And you weren't an enigmatic old man."

Greg gave Jules a sideways glance and saw her huge smile. He cut in laughing but knowing they were getting close to the location and needed to refocus "Let's keep the peace. Sam, Eddie play nice today."

A lighthearted "Copy that" was heard from five members as Leah just shook her head. Man she had a lot to learn about this team.

Sam muted his headset and motioned to Leah to do the same "Don't worry Leah, you'll get the hang of it soon. And with Ed, don't worry. He's just fiercely protective of the team. He gets upset if he thinks we take unnecessary risks. Like the grenade. He doesn't mean anything by it. Just needs to burn off steam."

Then he smiled and unmuted. Leah smiled wanly and unmuted hers too.

* * *

 ** _Hee Warrant Call Location_**

The team arrived in silent mode and stopped the SUVs in the back alley way outside visual range of the building. They were in the back gearing up. Sam and Leah were donning rappelling gear and had their MP5s attached to the vest cords.

Jules had already grabbed the Remi and kit and was just about to take off to the Sierra One location. Sam thought she looked a little too happy. But then again, she didn't often get to be Sierra One. Warrant calls were about it these days because she was nearly always Sarge's second and working profiles.

Ready, Jules turned to go and Sam called out "Jules, catch" as he tossed her a water bottle. She looked quizzically at him and he said "Sarge's orders remember."

Jules smiled and touched the bottle to her head in salute and pivoted then hurried to her position.

As she trotted off Sam watched her a moment. He and Ed had plotted and determined that Jules should have the opportunity for sniper position when no negotiations were likely, like in warrant calls. Ed wanted her to keep her skills sharp.

Sam however had an ulterior motive. Warrant calls tended to get very physical and although Jules could protect herself and handle guys double her weight, Sam felt she was safer as Sierra One. Especially after the call five months ago were the damned crack head had gotten the drop on her. He still cringed thinking about the bruises to her beautiful face after that call. Not realizing it, Sam laughed out loud at a memory.

Wordy said "Sam what's so funny" as he pulled the ram bar from the back.

Sam replied "Just remembering the night we all went to the Goose after that call where Jules got beat-up. Remember the bruising."

Wordy nodded and smiled "That was awesome and awful, nearly rivaled your bruising."

Again Leah was at a loss. Why would they laugh at Jules being hurt? But Leah was saved from asking when Ed piped in.

"Christ I thought you were a dead man that night Samo. Those eight guys surrounded you in the parking lot threatening to teach you a lesson that you don't hit women" Ed laughed out.

Sam picked up where Ed left off "Hell they wouldn't believe me that I didn't hit her. I was really trying to end it peacefully. But you know Jules. When the guy sucker punched me she went ballistic. She had three of them on the ground in seconds flat. The looks on their faces were priceless. They were so contrite that I got a free round of beer that night. Jules didn't pay for a single one of hers."

As he finished adjusting his rope Sam turned to Leah "Ready?"

Leah nodded.

Sam tossed her a water bottle too and grabbed one for himself tucking it into his pack before slinging it over his shoulder. The two headed off to the top of the building to rappel to the backside of the building.

Wordy whispered to Ed "Did you see that? The kid is taking the Boss serious about hydration."

Ed grinned "Hell we better too. We won't hear the end of it if we succumb and he doesn't after the jibe this morning." He grabbed one and shoved it in his pack then tossed one to Spike, Wordy and Greg.

Wordy, Spike, Ed and Greg headed to the front of the building and up to the fifth floor of the ten story building.

Ed called over the headset "Bravo team ready?"

Sam and Leah had rappelled to just above the fifth floor bank of windows. They would wait for the go signal and act as backup if the suspects exited on the fire escape stairs. The stairs were between Leah and Sam. Leah was on the left side closer to the stairs since she had a single window. Sam was to the right he had a triple window between him and the stairs.

"Bravo team in position, ready" Sam responded.

Jules said "Sierra One in position. Have a solution on the subject. Four men and one woman in the apartment. Three men in the main room. I see three handguns and what appears to be lines of some type of drugs on the table. One man has a handgun tucked in the waist of his pants on the backside."

"Hee and the woman are in the back bedroom, closest to Leah." Jules blushed a bit as she said "Uh, em they are a little busy at the moment. If ya know what I mean?"

Jules heard slight snickers from the guys. Yeah they knew what she meant.

Sweat was pouring down Leah and Sam as they waited. It was too humid for it to evaporate and it was stifling. Leah chiding herself for her stupid rookie mistake. She had realized when they were at the roof she had forgotten her gloves. Her hands were getting slick and it was hard to hold the rope.

Sam saw the issue and looped his rope securely several times around his left hand. He reached his right hand to the left and undid the velcro then yanked off his glove with his teeth. Sam called out "Leah" and waited to gain her attention. "Catch. One's better than none" Sam said as he tossed his right glove to Leah.

Leah caught it and a using similar method as Sam used she managed to get the glove on. It was a little big but it would help. "Thanks."

Sam just nodded. He knew that Ed would ride Leah for that later. Probably himself too for not making sure the rookie was squared away properly in the first place. And they waited.

Jules gave one final update on the location of the people in the apartment then they heard Ed "Go, go, go."

Sam and Leah heard the door smash in. Given the guns inside it needed to be a hard and fast surprise entry.

Inside Ed, Spike and Wordy each were busy subduing the three men in the main room. The woman had run out of the bedroom and Greg had taken her into custody after having to take her scratching and clawing to the ground. She had gotten in a good scratch to his face before he finally had her cuffed. He was now having a hell of a time holding onto the cuffed but kicking, bucking and screaming oil slicked woman.

Hee had pulled on a pair of shorts and ran to the fire escape.

Leah swung forward to land on the stairs as Hee appeared.

"Gun" Sam yelled as Hee pointed at Leah who was in mid swing.

Sam placed his feet on the building and ran toward the fire escape.

As Leah landed on the fire escape, Hee had descended one flight of stairs and turned to fire.

Sam launched himself at Hee. The gun went off just before Sam slammed into Hee. The two of them rolled and rammed into the railing of the fourth floor landing.

"Leah status" Sam called out as he was struggling to get Hee under control.

Hearing no response Sam spared a quick glance at Leah's location and felt slight relief. Leah was stirring.

Hee was a slippery bastard, literally, he was covered in massage oil. Sam lost his hold on him and Hee started down the stairs. Sam had to disconnect the rappelling line before he could pursue. Hee had a three flight lead on Sam when Sam finally got the rope disengaged, a bit difficult with all the damn oil on his hands.

As he sped down the flights of stairs he called out again "Leah status?"

"In the vest, no harm" Leah finally responded trying to rise from the fifth floor landing to help the guys inside. There was no way she could run at the moment. Just trying to get air back into her lungs.

"In pursuit, east on Fennel street. Subject armed" Sam called out as he ran after the subject. He was gonna kill Spike for jinxing them. It was too damned hot to be running in full tact gear. Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead as he ran full speed.

Ed grunted out "Jules assist Sam" as the man he was working to subdue elbowed him in the stomach.

The men they were trying to subdue were high on drugs and extremely strong. They were having a hell of a time. Greg had finally gotten the woman secured by cuffing her to the fridge and was calling for backup and EMS. Spike finally got his subject down and in a choke hold after getting kicked hard in the shin and he was applying pressure. It was taking too long to get the guy out, he kept losing his grip as the man twisted and turned.

Wordy had wrestled his guy to the ground. After an intense struggle he had finally got his guy cuffed. He had quickly removed the gun from where it was tucked into the man's pants. As the man continued to struggle Wordy had to put his full weight kneeling on the man's back to hold the raging man down. It wasn't easy.

"Just what the hell are these guys on?" Wordy called out. He was rubbing his jaw where the guy had landed a punch.

Ed's man slipped out of the hold and was running for the door. He launched himself at the man and the two slammed into the solid steel door. They both crashed to the floor. Ed immediately rolled and rose ready to go again.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he rolled the unconscious man to his stomach, checked his pulse then cuffed him behind his back. Apparently the man had hit his head on the door hard enough to knock him out. Ed hit his shoulder and head too but luckily not that hard.

Ed then went to help Spike. Between the two of them they got the man cuffed. Spike knelt on him in the same manner as Wordy had his subject. The fight was slowly ebbing out of the man but it still took considerable effort to keep the man down.

Turning to Wordy Ed asked "Got it covered here?"

Wordy nodded.

Ed sprinted from the room and was calling out "Sam status" as Leah slowly made it into the room from the fire escape entrance.

Greg immediately pulled a chair over to Leah and said "Sit. EMS is on its way. You need to be checked out."

Leah sat and started to remove the vest needing more room to breathe.

Greg stopped her "Sorry Leah, but the vest needs to stay on until scene is secure. How are you?"

Leah winced in pain and said "I'm fine."

Spike called out with a bit of humor "Leah, better change that to okay and fast if you don't want everyone freaking out."

Leah looked at him with a mixture of pain and confusion on her face.

"Later, I'll explain later" Spike said as he pushed hard on the man as he continued to buck.

Sam called out a bit winded having been at a full run the entire time. The mugginess was sapping some of his normal endurance "North on Thatcher near Crescent, heading into the alley."

Jules called out "Almost there Sam."

She had sprinted to the SUV and quickly secured the Remi in the back and was driving to intercept Sam's location. Jules thought damn, Sam's gone nearly two miles so far. Spike's gonna pay big time for jinxing us.

The team all heard Sam call out loudly and firmly "SRU stop. Put your hands where I can see them. Drop your weapon. There's nowhere for you to go. Drop your weapon now."

Jules brought the SUV to a halt outside the alley. "Boss, Sam has the subject cornered in the alley between Crescent and Butte."

Apparently the man had hopped several walls and off Thatcher and made it all the way to Butte. Jules drew her weapon and joined Sam in the alley. Both men were dripping in sweat. Hee was not surrendering his weapon and had it pointed at Sam. Sam had his pointed at Hee.

As she approached behind Jules said "Sam at your seven" giving him notice she was approaching from behind on his left side.

"Almost there" Ed stated.

"Uniforms have arrived on scene. Sending more to secure surrounding area for you" Greg informed Ed.

As Jules came alongside Sam Jules tried to begin negotiations as she calmly said "Hee, my name is Jules Callaghan, with SRU. Let's end this peacefully so no one gets hurt. I need you to lower your weapon."

Hee switched his eyes from Sam to Jules. His gun moved in the same direction.

Sweat was dripping in Sam's eyes but he saw Hee's finger move to the trigger. Sam simultaneously launched himself toward Jules to knock her down out of the line of fire and fired his weapon at Hee just as Hee fired his at Jules.

Ed screeched to a halt and was out of the truck a split second after the shots were fired.

Jules, Sam and Hee all hit the ground at the same time. Jules rolled and stood up weapon ready instantly.

Ed approached weapon drawn pointed at Hee.

Sam rolled onto his back breath coming in quick gasps. He had landed hard and knocked the wind out of him.

The subject was on the ground clutching his bleeding hand to his chest screaming. Ed and Jules approached Hee. Jules kicked the weapon away from the subject. Ed noticed the wound was no more than a graze that had caused the man to drop the weapon so he cuffed the subject with his hands behind his back while Jules covered him.

Jules called out "We need EMS, subject injured."

Once Hee was cuffed Ed disgustedly wiped all the oil off his hands onto his pants. "Damn the man is slippery." When he was done Ed regained his weapon and covered Hee. "Jules check on Sam."

Jules hurried to Sam who was slowly sitting up and breathing normally now. "Just what the hell were you thinking Braddock?" she yelled at him.

Rolling his head around his neck and stretching one side, Sam replied causally eyeing Jules critically looking for injuries "No time to do anything else. He was firing. You okay? Not hit?"

It had scared the crap out of Sam when the gun moved from him to Jules. His only instinct and thought had been protect Jules. Sam could see Jules was extremely angry, more so than normal. He wondered why.

Crap, he was in deep trouble with her and he knew it. She didn't like it when he was over-protective. He tried real hard not to be but sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

Jules had been eyeing Sam just as critically as he had her. She finally huffed "God dammit Sam. I'm not hit but you are."

Sam blinked at her disbelievingly. He didn't feel hit.

"Your arm idiot" Jules said as she pointed to the growing stain of blood on his right arm.

Sam looked and just mouthed "Oh."

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Returning from Hee Warrant Call_**

It was a sweaty, rag tag bunch of SRU officers that dragged their butts slowly past Winnie's desk towards the briefing room. Winnie was stunned by their appearance. That must have been one heck of a warrant call she thought.

She had been assisting another team and so badly wanted to ask what the hell happened. But none looked like they wanted to talk. None had even acknowledged her as they usually do.

Winnie could see they were wiped out. All of them had their vests and long sleeve uniform shirts off.

Leah was gently massaging her upper right shoulder wincing at the touch and Winnie could see the bullet glinting in the vest she held.

Greg had a long thin scratch along his jaw line and a few on his hands.

Ed was kneading his shoulder and had the beginnings of a large bruise on the side of his head. His pants were covered in something.

Wordy was manipulating his jaw, testing it back and forth and she saw a bruise starting to form. That had to be one heck of a hit.

Jules was tenderly touching her left shoulder and clasping and unclasping her left hand like it hurt.

Spike was sporting the beginnings of a black eye and walked with a slight limp.

Sam had a bright bruise on his forehead, his right sleeve had been cut away at the shoulder and he had lightly blood stained gauze wrapped around his upper arm. His pants were covered in the same whatever that Ed's were.

The team was almost to the briefing room when Greg stopped and turned around "Everyone hit the showers first. Briefing room in thirty minutes. Winnie, no hot calls for Team One for at least thirty minutes."

Winnie answered "Copy that."


	3. Hee Debrief, Sam's Secret and Daphne

**Hee Debrief, Sam's Secret & Daphne**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

The team, freshly showered, looked much better than when they wandered in thirty minutes ago Greg thought as he looked over his team sitting around the briefing table. Not a single one of them left unscathed by that last call. But they were all okay, a little battered and bruised but all okay.

It's the first time every single one of his team was checked out by EMS at a scene. The most serious were Leah and Sam. Leah thankfully was only bruised. Sam luckily had just been grazed and didn't even require stitches.

He could see Jules was shooting daggers at Sam and was brewing for confrontation. Ed was just generally pissed off because of the way it went down. And strangely Sam was staring intently at Spike and Spike seemed disconcerted.

Greg thought if Sam did anything to upset Spike the rest of the team would have his head. Spike was barely hanging in there after Lou's death. He had taken a full month off. He had tried to come back after three weeks but he needed another week off after he decked Sam in his tech room. Then the team took another month before they even looked for a replacement.

Sam had helped Spike a lot in that last week but they were still protective of Spike. That damned grenade incident nearly sent Spike over the edge. Greg knew that everyone would lay into Sam if he upset Spike again. Ed had laid into Sam so hard after the grenade because of what it had done to Spike. To his credit Sam stayed silent as Ed had raged that day.

Greg wanted to head off any issues before they started so he said "That was a tough call. I'm proud of each of you. I expect debrief to be short and light. Unless there are any egregious actions or errors that need to be highlighted I think it would be sufficient to say each performed their duties well and we kept the peace. So are there any pressing issues we need to address?"

Sam had watched Spike ever since he had rushed up to the EMS unit where he was being attended. The spooked look that covered Spike's face shook Sam to the core. He hated what Jules call out that he had been hit had done to Spike. He could see the haunted look remained even though Spike knew he was okay.

He had to do something to bring Spike out of those dark thoughts that he could have lost another friend. Sam noted that Sarge had just finished his brush off of the debriefing. He was glad Sarge was not going to make a big deal of it. Then it hit him how to help Spike. Time to make a complete fool of himself for Spike's sake.

Jules had opened her mouth to lay into Sam for being over-protective when Sam cut her off.

Sam stood up pointing at Spike with a serious face but in a childlike accusatory voice whined "It's all Spike's fault. He jinxed us. Hee Ran Long and I had to chase him two friggin miles in this damned heat."

He could not keep up the serious pretense, his face melted into a smile as he finished laughing "I swear you're gonna pay for that one Spike. Just you wait, my revenge will be sweet."

Jules and Ed forgot their anger as the team dissolved in laughter over Sam's antics.

Greg then realized Spike's demeanor was because Sam had been shot and Sam just defused the whole issue for Spike. Damn he's insightful sometimes. He liked the complete change in Spike's demeanor; he was now relaxed and laughing deeply at Sam.

As the laughter died down Greg quickly said "Okay debriefing considered closed on the Hee Ran Long case. Let's focus on the next warrant call." Greg called out to Winnie "Winnie do you have the file on the Daphne Duncan case?"

Jules punched Sam lightly in the left arm. He gave her one of his WOW smiles then leaned back in his chair completely relaxed swinging back and forth and spinning around like a kid, making Spike laugh more.

She had been so mad at Sam for being over-protective of her that she hadn't noticed Spike's mood until Sam pointed at him. Jules was damned glad that Sam had noticed and stepped in to help Spike. Those two had a great friendship before Lou died.

But now they seemed much closer. They were brothers of the heart and a single event in each of their lives connected them deeply. Both had lost best friends in unspeakably horrible ways and both had felt profound guilt over those losses.

Winnie walked in happy to see them all smiles again. "Sorry it took so long. Here's the file Sarge."

"Thanks Winnie" Greg responded.

The team realized they had totally ignored her when they walked in earlier, something they never did. Everyone said a different version of hi to her. Winnie walked out all smiles herself now too.

Greg noticed each had grabbed a bottle of water as the team settled down to review the next warrant call. Well Sam had three. But Greg guessed that with Sam's two mile run in this heat it was expected.

"Alright, so our next subject is Daphne Duncan" Greg informed them as he showed the team a picture of a striking woman with hazel eyes and short cropped jet black hair. "Seems Ms. Duncan is wanted for corporate espionage."

Wordy interrupted "Why does that fall into SRUs realm? Seems a bit tame."

"She is wanted in connection with theft of sensitive defense information from the Thruston Group" Greg shared.

Sam was staring at the picture with an odd look on his face.

Jules noticed "Sam what is it? You know her or something?"

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. No way in hell it could be. Sam asked "Sarge, when was that photo taken?"

"Yesterday. Why?" Greg answered.

Sam stood and walked to Greg holding out his hand for the picture. Greg handed it over. Sam scrutinized the slightly grainy photo closely.

The team just watched curious at his actions.

In a distracted tone Sam said "I have to make a call."

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Gym_**

Sam quickly walked out of the room holding the photo. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed leaving his teammates confused. He walked into the empty gym as his call was answered.

"Sir. It's Sam, do you have a moment?"

 _["Samuel, nice to hear from you. Are we still expecting you in three weeks? Your mom can't wait to see you again" General Braddock stated.]_

"Yes Sir. But I'm calling about something else. We need a secure line before I can say more" Sam responded.

 _["Let me arrange it. Do you still have your encrypted phone?"]_

"Yes Sir, just need to retrieve it from my locker, give me five minutes" Sam said as he headed toward the locker room.

 _["Good, I'll call you back in ten minutes" he replied then hung up. The General was extremely curious; Samuel had never requested a secure line since leaving JTF2.]_

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Men's Locker Room_**

Ed caught up with Sam at the locker room door and stopped him from entering. "Samo, you need to return to the briefing room now."

Sam looked seriously at Ed and said "This is important Sir. Give me twenty minutes. There might be changes in our plans for the warrant call."

He pushed past Ed and strode ramrod straight and purposely to his locker.

Ed followed intrigued by Sam's words. He saw Sam open his locker and reach into the very back withdrawing a medium sized box. The locking mechanism required a thumb print, a fifteen digit code and a small key.

Christ thought Ed, he'd never noticed that box in Sam's locker.

Sam just glanced at Ed as he withdrew a phone and a small black notebook. Sam did not try to hide the contents and Ed saw it also contained some type of id, a gun and several clips of ammo. Sam closed it leaving the rest inside and put the box back in his locker then closed and locked it as usual.

"Excuse me Sir. I'll be on the roof. I need privacy for this call. Be back as soon as I can Sir." Sam strode quickly out of the locker room opening the black book and flipping several pages.

As Ed exited the locker room just behind Sam he saw Sam's index finger scan down a page and stop just before he opened the door to the stairwell to the roof.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

The serious all business tone and mannerisms had prevented Ed from following Sam to the roof. He went back to the briefing room and as he entered Greg queried "So where is he? What's up?"

Ed sat down totally perplexed and opened his water bottle. Sam had called him Sir, not once but multiple times. His stride and carriage had been all military. He hadn't seen that in nearly two years.

What the hell was in the black book? Why the hell did he have a Glock, id and phone in that lock box? What the hell was that all about?

He finally responded to Greg "Not sure. Our Samo has some secrets I think. Pulled a phone and black book out of his locker. He's on the roof making a private call. Said he'd be down as soon as he could and our warrant call might change."

Ed took a long drink and looked at the confused faces of the team, they wanted more information. He just shrugged "Don't have any more info for you."

Then Ed looked at Greg and said with serious concern in his voice "Sam went _all soldier_ on me. It sounded important. I say we just wait."

Greg, Jules, Spike and Wordy looked at each other concerned. All soldier. That didn't sound good.

Leah was out of the loop again but saw the concerned looks so asked "What do you mean all soldier?"

No one answered her, each was too lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Rooftop_**

The phone rang and Sam answered "Master Corporal Samuel W. Braddock B23-509-653"

 _["Verified. XRF-63-89-VRX"]_

Sam scanned the black book looking for the right verification code, finding it he stated "Verified" then put the book in his pocket.

 _["Putting you through."]_

 _["Samuel?" General Braddock asked.]_

Sam got right to the point "Sir. I believe I've found Daphne Blain alive but she is going by Daphne Duncan. My team has a warrant call where she is the subject. She is wanted in connection with theft of sensitive defense information from the Thruston Group. How should I proceed?" Sam asked.

 _["Daphne Blain. Are you sure?"]_

"I'm looking at a surveillance photo taken yesterday. It is a little grainy, ninety percent sure it is her. Hair is cropped now but same facial features and eyes, so like her brother's. Sir, we all thought she was dead for the past five years."

 _["Standby."]_

"Yes Sir" Sam responded and then waited.

His heart was racing. Daphne alive? Please let it be her. Christ where has she been? What the hell had happened?

He was on hold for ten minutes and was pacing back and forth the whole time. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and his shirt stuck to him. Damn it was hot and muggy today.

 _["Samuel a unit is on their way to you. You are to give your Sergeant the following briefing …."]_

Sam listened to all the orders the General gave him without interrupting. "Yes got it. We have a new team member, Leah Kerns; you will need to add her." He listened. "Yes Sir Lou's replacement. Who is commanding the unit and what is their ETA?" Sam listened again. "Sir are you sure that is wise? He's probably not the best choice for this one." Sam listened again. "I understand, yes Sir."

He hung up and blew out a long breath as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Shit this just got complicated, no simple warrant call. Sam marched to the rooftop door and down the stairs to the briefing room.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Sam strode in and everyone could see exactly what Ed had meant by all soldier. The stiffness and formality entrenched itself in his body. Sam surprised everyone when he hit the button that sealed the room. Sam waited at parade rest while the room completely sealed.

Then Sam strode to Greg and came to attention when he addressed him "Sir. We have a situation. I have been authorized to disclose certain information to this team."

Greg held up his hand indicating stop before Sam could continue. Sam complied immediately. The team saw shadows of always following superiors orders without question. Greg was worried about the significant change.

Sam was drenched from twenty minutes on the roof and he looked so hot and uncomfortable standing at attention but not a muscle twitched even as sweat dripped in his eyes.

Greg grabbed a water bottle as he held it out to Sam he said "At ease Sam, sit, drink. When it's gone you can continue."

Sam took the water and sat at attention. Everyone remained silent, this was so very odd and it worried them.

As he drank the water his surroundings reintroduced themselves to his mind and Sam slowly relaxed.

Greg saw the relaxing and said softly "Sam, when you are ready but remember you are not in the military anymore so relax."

Sam sighed as soldier mode started to relinquish control of his body. Listening to his father give him orders had brought it back full force. "Partially right Sir, err Boss."

Greg looked at him quizzically and Ed arched one eyebrow up clearly not liking the hesitant tone Sam had just used.

Sam continued even though he did not really want to disclose his secret "The JTF2 early release contract I signed says I can be called up anytime for short duration special assignments for a period of ten years. It was the only way the General would release me early."

Several gasps were heard in the room. None of them knew that.

Ed looked at Sam and asked the obvious question "So have you been called up?"

Sam grimaced "Partly but not exactly. I've been ordered to assist but in my SRU position. In fact, the General ordered me to enlist Team One's help with a sensitive situation. He is clearing it with Holleran as we speak. There is a JTF2 unit on the way. ETA is one hour. I'm to brief you on the situation before Captain Blain and his unit arrives."

Spike's eyes widened "Blaze and Winds are coming here and we are to assist. Why?"

Sam looked around and said "I'll start at the beginning. You all have been clear to receive this classified information."

He got nods all around.

Sam stood. His shirt was uncomfortably wet so he unbuttoned the uniform shirt and took it off hanging it over the back of his chair. It felt much cooler in his t-shirt only.

Ed was relieved that the soldier mode had completely receded. That shirt would not have come off in soldier mode no matter how hot he was.

Sam picked up the photo of Daphne and started "This woman is not Daphne Duncan. Her real name is Daphne Blain. She is Blaze's sister."

Gasps and nods yet again.

"She is JTF2 as well but part of covert ops. She specializes in deep cover ops. But she has been missing and assumed dead for the past five years" Sam stated then took a long drink.

His heart racing. Blaze's sister is alive.

He continued "She was last seen in Vancouver trying to infiltrate a group that was selling arms and intel to many terrorist groups." A sad look crossed Sam's face "It is not known if she has gone rogue or is just deep, deep cover. There are some indications of the later though. Her handler believes she has surfaced here as Daphne Duncan in order to come in from the cold."

Spike laughed "Don't ya mean the heat, buddy?"

That made Sam chuckle and relieved a bit more tension.

Ed had an assessing look on his face "So I assume we facilitate that and do not break her cover. Can't have the military charging in to extract her but an SRU team with a warrant could do it without raising suspicions."

Sam nodded "Yep exactly." Sam cringed a bit "Blaze's unit will assume her protection once she is out."

Spike saw the look on Sam's face as he said that "Why does that concern you so much?"

Looking at Spike Sam answered "Well two reasons really. One Blaze mourned her loss so very deeply. Two Blaze is likely to kill her when he sees her because of it.

"They are like fire and gasoline when they are together. I really don't know how they survived childhood in the same house. They cannot be in the same room for more than ten minutes and they are bickering. Not a pretty sight. Had to break them up several times.

"I got a few scars to prove it" Sam didn't laugh, he was absolutely serious. He absently rubbed a small scar on the back of his right hand. The General had no idea what his was doing assigning Blaze as her protection detail.

Greg said "So we wait for Blaze to arrive before heading out? Will they be accompanying us or wait here?"

Sam sighed "The General wants them to accompany us but not dressed as military. Again, he is clearing it with Holleran for them to wear SRU uniforms."

Wordy asked "Who is in charge of the warrant call?"

Sam looked to Greg and Ed "SRU, we are. They assume custody after we arrest her. Spike, Angus will be sending you some additional intel on the location shortly. Might even be here already. Ed we need to reassess the tactical plan. It is likely the info we had was incomplete. We will have six additional men to assist; Blaze, Winds, Hal, Angus, Russ, and Daniel."


	4. Daphne's Secret: He Never Knew

**Daphne's Secret: He Never Knew**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Spike pulled out his laptop and Sam and Ed joined him to review the intel. Greg went to speak with Holleran. Jules and Wordy were in quiet conversation.

Leah sat back and was in her own thoughts. She was constantly surprised by the actions and reactions in this team. She knew it would take time to become a full member; they had so much history together. Leah wondered at Sam's behaviors.

A small part of her wondered if he didn't have multiple personalities. In the space of the last few hours she had seen a competent and protective teammate, a brooding man, a little boy, a stiff as a board soldier and then back to skilled tactician. Her head was dizzy trying to keep up.

Leah really knew nothing of any of their histories. From the little she had seen today, his looked like the most complicated. She was surprised to hear he had been JTF2. She knew he was ex-military but that was all. She had mostly been partnered with Wordy or Ed and had barely spoken with Sam in the two weeks she was here.

Wordy was talking to Jules. They were worried about and discussing the early release contract very quietly.

Jules said softly "I know Sam said his father keeps bugging him about returning and he keeps turning him down. But I never thought he might actually be forced to return. That's not good."

Wordy replied "How could the General put that stipulation in Sam's contract especially after what happened with Matt? That's just wrong."

Leah had moved closer to them and overheard that so asked bluntly "Who is Matt, Blaze and Winds? Was Sam really JTF2? Why would a General care about Sam's leaving the military early?"

Jules just stared at Leah. She was trying really hard to integrate with the new teammate. But Leah had a habit of being too blunt, making awkward statements and generally asking questions Jules did not feel comfortable answering. Jules knew she was just trying to feel part of the team. But she believed Leah just pushed too hard too quickly into their personal space sometimes, like now.

Wordy saw Jules hackles rising. Yes Leah came off a bit abrasive but she meant well; she was trying to get to know the team. Sam didn't talk much about the past so he understood that she would be in the dark about what was happening.

He smiled at Leah and said "Lot's of history. Gonna take some time I'm afraid to get to know us. As for your questions I can tell you a few things, not everything is mine to tell. Yes Sam was JTF2. He joined us directly after leaving the military. Matt was Sam's best friend. Blaze is Captain Blain, he was in charge of Sam's unit. Winds was also in the unit."

Leah listened and realized he didn't answer a few of her questions so prodded again "You said was his best friend what happened? Also what about this General? I've never heard of anyone having a reactivation stipulation of that length. Is it a JTF2 thing?"

Wordy sighed "The General is Sam's father. They are a military family going back generations. So that is probably why."

Leah realized he still did not answer about Matt "So about Matt?"

Wordy got frustrated and it showed on his face. Didn't she hear he said some was not his to tell?

Jules saw Wordy's frustration, she felt it too and said in a clipped tone "Matt was in the same unit and died just before Sam left JTF2. You need to drop it at that for now." Jules rose and went to see how the planning session was progressing.

Leah looked to Wordy "Sorry I didn't realize ..."

Wordy had reigned in his frustration and stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder and said in his fatherly voice "Leah relax please, it is okay. But like I said, some things we know about each other are not ours to share. It will come in time. Just please give it time." He smiled.

Leah nodded and thought to herself, I did it again, pushed too hard too fast. Then she thought, wow Sam's dad is a General. That probably had to suck growing up and being in the military under a shadow like that. No wonder he left.

There was a knock on the briefing room side door. Ed went to answer it. Blaze and Winds strolled in.

"Blondie!" Winds yelled and pulled Sam into a bear hug. "Christ man it has been too long."

All three were grinning broadly. Blaze noticed the wonderful bruise and the bandage. Christ would he ever see that kid not injured.

Blaze pulled Blondie into a hug next and jokingly said "I see you are still using your head" as he poked the bruise.

Sam winced and pulled away then said sarcastically "Nice to see you too."

Winds saw the injuries now too and just shook his head telling himself, I just do not want to know. Then he took in the bruised state of most of the team and couldn't help himself "You all look like shit, what the hell happened?"

Blaze noticed the others now too including Greg who had just reentered the room. Damn he thought.

Spike answered for all of them laughing as he said "Hee Ran Long."

Blaze thought that is no answer but dropped it. The rest of his unit entered the room.

Getting down to business Blaze turned to Greg and said "Sergeant, my unit is at your disposal for the warrant call. Use us as you will. Afterwards we will assume custody of the missing operative. My unit and I have not been briefed beyond knowing Blondie had recognized a MIA operative that is the subject of your warrant call."

Without realizing it Sam said out loud "Shit he didn't tell him."

Blaze whipped around to face Blondie, his stance hard and rigid because the tone of Blondie's voice caused an instant gut rush. He firmly said "Who didn't tell me what?"

Sam flinched realizing he had spoken out loud. Sam wished he could dress down the General for leaving it up to Sam to tell Blaze. He steeled himself for many possible reactions; he wasn't exactly sure which would occur.

Mirroring voice and stance Sam said "The he is the General. The what is who the operative is."

Blaze eyed him cautiously not sure he was going to like what Blondie said because he could read nervousness in his eyes. He waited.

Stepping close to Blaze, Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. Then Sam said softly as he held out the photo for Blaze to see "I found Daphy."

Sam was blinking stars away from his eyes and looking up at Blaze, his jaw hurt. He was flat on his back and Blaze was straddling his chest his face inches from his yelling "Don't you fucking lie to me! She's dead!"

Crap he didn't see this as a potential reaction.

Winds, Hal and Angus were in the process of pulling Blaze off Blondie. Spike and Jules had rushed forward to help Sam.

Ed raged at Blaze "Just what the hell was that for?"

Blaze pulled out of his unit's grasp and paced back and forth. She was dead. He had said goodbye to his beautiful sister. His Daphy was dead for five years. How dare Blondie say such a thing? He of all people should know not to be so cruel. He knew what it was like to lose a baby sister.

With the support of Spike and Jules, Sam sat up then got to his feet unsteadily. He walked a little closer to Blaze, rubbed his jaw and said pleading "Blaze, I'm not lying. Please man, look at the picture. Look hard. Look close. Look past the short hair, imagine her long curly tresses. It's her eyes, her face. I would never forget those. Never! How could I ever forget Daphy's amazing eyes?"

Sam sat heavily in a chair and placed his head in his hands as Blaze continued to pace. Blaze needed to burn out the fire before he would listen.

Jules listened to Sam's pleading and wondered at his words. Was Daphne more to him than Blaze's sister? It sure the hell sounded like it. The way he had said he would never forget her amazing eyes. Sam had a thing for eyes.

When they had been dating he focused many of his compliments on her eyes. She had always thought they were just a dull brown. But the ways Sam described them when they were intimate made her feel special.

She walked to the window and looked out. Jules really needed a moment to stomp and crush the little green eyed envious monster that was growing in her. Sam was not hers so she had no right to feel jealousy of a relationship he may or may not have had in the past.

Blaze's rage was ebbing as the team and the unit stood watching.

Leah was more than a little shocked and wondered why the team was doing nothing but she decided to keep quiet for once and not step into something she apparently did not get.

Greg cleared his throat and said "Captain Blain, we need to get on with the briefing. Whether it is or is not Daphne Blain will be determined after we bring the woman into custody."

The use of his title brought Blaze to his wits. He looked to Greg first and said "You are absolutely right." He walked toward Blondie and saw that his face was still in his hands. He squatted down in front of him "Blondie, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Jules and Leah were watching closely as Sam raised his head. They both noted there were tears in his eyes as he said "Nothing to forgive. I want it to be Daphy so very bad. If it is not I give you leave to pound the crap out of me for hurting you."

At the sight of his tears the green monster grew in Jules.

At the sight of tears Leah thought he has a soft side too?

Blaze nodded and said "I'll hold you to that. I know you know what it's like."

There were confused looks on Leah, Angus, Hal, Russ and Daniel's faces; none of them knew about Sam's little sister Sara.

Blaze continued "If it is Daphy I give you leave to pound the crap out of me for hurting you." He gently pulled his face up and inspected the large bright red area on Blondie's jaw where he had slugged him. "Gonna be an awesome bruise, ten to one it's gonna be bright purple in an hour."

Then he tousled the kids hair in a fatherly way as he stood and faced Greg "So briefing?"

* * *

 ** _Enroute to Daphne Warrant Call_**

The team had reviewed the plans then headed to the SUVs. Blaze and Hal rode with Ed and Greg. Winds and Russ rode with Sam and Leah. Daniel rode with Wordy and Jules. Angus rode with Spike in the command truck. There was minor chit chat in each vehicle but in the command truck Angus and Spike were deep in conversation about the latest in bomb detection methods and tools.

Angus was finishing up telling Spike about one of the latest gadget he had gotten "Yeah, it is so sensitive it puts the Mark4000 to shame. I also found this little tool to be so useful." From his pocket pulled out and showed Spike a small back box with a numeric display and a small lead hanging from one corner of it.

Spike glanced quickly at it then back to the road. "Just what the hell is that?" He was intrigued by the tool.

Angus motioned for Spike to mute his comlink and did so himself. He teased "Classified, military grade tech. I really shouldn't have showed you."

That hooked Spike, ever interested in the latest bomb tech. "Aw man, come on. What is it and what does it do?"

"It's really a one use item. They usually blow up." Angus said drawing out the explanation.

Sam had pulled him aside just before they had headed out to the trucks and asked him to talk to Spike about the latest tech. He had said that since Lou's death Spike had not wanted anything to do with bombs and had even abandoned Babycakes. Sam thought if Angus could lure him back into a conversation it might help Spike regain his passion for the subject.

"Why do they blow up?" Spike asked.

He smiled as he expounded "Well you see. Some bright inventor realized that us bomb techs often run out of time. If you attach this lead to the timer mechanism it will give an extra fifteen seconds before the explosion. It can mean the difference between life and death; giving enough time to clear outta there if nothing else works."

Spike said "Awesome. Wish SRU had those."

He could think of at least five times something like that would have been extremely useful. Luckily he only had concussions to show for the times he cut it too short. An extra fifteen seconds could make a huge difference. Two of the five times he remembered he could have actually defused it and prevented the explosion.

Spike's basic bomb kit was sitting on the seat between them. Angus smiled devilishly as he slipped the device the kit and said "You can't tell anyone where you got it or what it does. If you do I get to disassemble Babycakes. Deal?"

Spike's eyes were eager and wide open and a huge smile was on his face "Deal. No one will ever know. But you'll be dead if you touch Babycakes."

They both laughed and unmuted the mics. Angus thought mission accomplished.

* * *

 ** _Daphne Warrant Call_**

Silent arrival was necessary. Ed had selected an approach that limited exposure to the team. However there were areas where the team would be visible to anyone in the large farmhouse. Jules and Russ were designated Sierra One and Two. They had dropped both off a ways back near a grove of trees and a small barn. Jules would be on the barn and Russ would find a perch in the trees.

The plan was that Greg would stay in the command truck to coordinate. The remainder of the team and unit were paired up one SRU and one JTF2. Sam and Winds would head for the back of the farmhouse. Their destination was the back porch that ran the length of the second floor. Spike and Angus location would be the ground level of the back. Wordy and Daniel were assigned the left side of the building while Hal and Leah got the right. Ed and Blaze were entry point through the front door. Before entry each team would recon the rooms in their target area.

As the team geared up Ed called out "Sierra One, Sierra Two are you in position?"

"Sierra One in position. No visuals of subject or others, no movement in upper level" Jules replied.

Jules then wiped the sweat from her forehead and a weird thought crossed her mind. Her mother used to tell her 'girls mist, boys sweat'. She laughed inwardly when she thought, well mom, you were wrong I'm definitely sweating my ass off today.

Russ called out "No targets in lower level."

Greg bristled at the use of target but Russ was military. Needing to set the tone for the JTF2 guys he said "SRU uses subject. Connect. Respect, Protect. Let's keep the peace; goal is for everyone to go home unharmed today."

Team One snickered.

Wordy chuckled as he said "Boss a little late for that one today."

Greg looked at him and saw the bruised jaw and thought yeah a little late for that today. He pulled his hat off and wiped his head. Definitely not a day we want to be outside long either. "Ed ready to go?"

Ed instructed "Move out."

The pairs stealthily moved out, fully armed with MP5.

Wordy reported "Boss, Red One clear." Then he and Daniel ducked down and moved under the window to the next room.

Leah whispered "Green One, single male asleep in a chair."

Moving to the edge of the full length sliding glass door that opened to the family room in the back Spike scanned the room then called "Sarge, Black One clear." He and Angus had no choice but to quickly pass the sliding door to recon the kitchen.

Sam and Winds had made it silently up the stairs and were about to check the first bedroom when the door to the patio opened and a little boy skipped out. He was no more than three maybe four or five. It was hard to tell.

The little boy looked up and saw two police officers with guns.

Sam was struck dumb as he stared at the boy. He had jet black hair. But the facial features and those eyes. They were unmistakably only one man's. His heart broke. He never knew, he never knew.

Winds noticed that Blondie was lost looking at the boy. He quickly moved and grabbed the little boy and clamped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

The boy did not make a sound and just stared at Sam.

Sam shook himself out of his stupor just as an adult exited the door. Sam raised his weapon and called out firmly but not loudly, not wanting to alert the other occupants of the house "SRU, hands where I can see them. Police."

The woman froze at the voice. She knew that gravelly tone. Her hands slowly making themselves seen out to the sides palms forward.

Sam continued "On your knees."

She complied slowly, her eyes not leaving his.

When she was down, Sam moved around behind her and cuffed her. He called out "Boss subject in custody."

Greg said "Good work Sam."

Ed called out "Sam stay there until the rest of the house is secured."

"Copy" Sam said as he stared at Daphne Blain.

Sam helped her rise and stood holding her arm. There was no mistaking it was her. There was no mistaking who the father of the boy was either.

His body shook as he thought about it. Sam was unable to put together a coherent sentence. There was too much hurt and joy was flooding through him all at once.

Winds had been shocked when he saw the boy but a smile was now firmly planted on his face. Damn those eyes could belong to no other. He looked at Blondie then back at Daphne. Why had she kept this a secret?

Sam heard Ed call out "Scene secured. Sam, Winds hold position. Blaze and I are on our way. Jules, Russ move in."

Seeing Sam could not respond Winds replied "Roger."

Sam finally found his voice and choked out "Why did you never say anything?"

Daphne was so shocked to see Sam and Winds she had lost the ability to speak. They were not in a military uniforms and that confused her.

She was in too deep of cover to contact anyone she knew. Daphne was unable to even keep tabs on anyone she knew. She had been completely dark.

The only thing she had risked was to name her son after his father. She had been able to keep him safe until recently. Daphne knew she had to come in from the cold once he had started reciting his full name to anyone who asked. It was too risky now.

Had she known she was pregnant, she would have never accepted the assignment in the first place. She felt guilt keeping the boy away from his father. She was glad it was over and he could be part of his life now. Every boy needed their dad.

"I couldn't" was all Daphne finally got out.

The sound of pounding boots on stairs alerted Sam of Ed's and Blaze's approach.

Winds back was to Blaze so Blaze only saw Daphne.

Daphne saw Blaze and was stunned that he too was in an SRU uniform.

Blaze stopped directly in front of Daphne. He didn't know what to say as emotions rolled through him. He finally opted to pull her into a rib crushingly tight hug as tears started down his face. His baby sister was truly alive.

Winds had released his hand from the boy's mouth as soon as Ed said the scene was secure. All of Team One had made it up the stairs and were on the porch. They were not surprised to see Blaze hugging his sister. They had initially smiled when they saw that.

But quickly they noticed Sam's expression as he held onto Daphne's arm. His focus was not on her but on a little boy in Winds arms. There was an utterly stunned look on Sam's face.

Sam finally released Daphne's arm and walked to Winds. The little boy smiled at him. Team One watched intently as Sam reached out and the boy willingly came into his arms.

Very softly and choked with emotion Sam said "My name is Sam. What's yours?"

The little boy smiled and happily chimed out "I'm named after my daddy. I'm Matthew Benjamin Hunter Jr., but everyone just calls me Matt."

Sweat and tears rolled down Sam's face as he hugged the boy. Those eyes, Matt's eyes. He never knew, Matt never knew he was a father. Oh God, Matt had a son.


	5. Becoming Ben, Unca Sam & Sweet Revenge

**Becoming Ben, Unca Sam & Sweet Revenge**

* * *

 ** _Daphne Farmhouse – Edge of the Treeline_**

Anwar Yassin was watching closely through binoculars. He had seen the SUVs approaching from his observation post. He pulled his phone out, dialed then spoke in Farsi "موسی کمالی، فکر می کنم حق با من است. یک چیزی هست. دافنه فقط SRU دستگير شد و ماموران آن عجیب است. (Mousa, I think I was right. Something is up. Daphne was just arrested SRU officers and it is weird.)"

 _["Yassin, how many times do I have to tell you? English only while we are here! What do you mean weird?" Abdul Khaliq Mousa stated harshly.]_

Yassin grimaced and switched to English "Well they arrived and cased the house like cops do and when Daphne came out with the boy she was arrested at gun point. Several stayed below keeping Assaf secured. Up until then it was normal. But then nearly all of the officers converged on the upper deck."

"One of them ran right to Daphne and after staring at her a moment hugged her. In fact he is still hugging her. One of the officers had the boy restrained before Daphne was arrested. But then another one was staring intently at the boy. He just took him into his arms and is hugging him as we speak and he is crying."

 _["Who is crying? The boy?"_ _Mousa asked._ _]_

"No the cop. Like I said it is weird" Yassin responded.

 _["I want you to follow. You are right things have been odd with Daphne lately. I've got Raashid checking into that name you overheard the boy say a week ago. Keep me informed."]_

"If they split up Daphne and the boy who do you want me to follow?"

 _["The boy. We can always use him against her if something is truly up. I'll contact Fadel and Syed and have them join you."]_

"Okay I'll call again when I know where they end up." Yassin hung up and turned away from the farmhouse walking to his motorcycle.

As he put his helmet on ready to follow at a discreet distance he thought I never trusted Daphne. He never understood why Mousa had, she was just a woman, can't trust them. She really screwed up their last job and left a trail to herself. Something just didn't add up, never did for him.

Finally last week Mousa had listened to him when he reported how nervous she became when the boy introduced himself to their latest customer. It was odd. The boy gave a name he didn't recognize. Not that he had ever asked but he assumed his last name was Duncan like Daphne.

Yassin pulled out the binoculars again to check on them and saw that they had moved from the deck. He watched as the SRU group loaded Daphne and the boy into the SUV's. He noted which one the boy was placed in so he could follow that one in case they split off.

* * *

 ** _Enroute to SRU HQ_**

Sam sat in the back driver's side seat with Matt between him and Winds. Jules was driving and Wordy was in the front passenger seat. Sam was quietly replaying in his head the last few minutes of his day.

His world was rocked. Blaze's world was rocked. Daphy's world was rocked. For the safety of everyone Sam, Blaze and Daphy were all in different SUVs.

As he had been hugging the boy, Blaze had registered the little boy's introduction. Blaze had turned and saw what was clearly evident to anyone who had ever known Matt. The boy was a miniature of his father in all ways except the jet black hair.

Blaze had turned on Daphy and raged. She had raged back. That had scared the boy so much he started to cry and shake which had enraged Sam. But Sam had kept his cool for the boy's sake and quickly went down the stairs to get him away from the scene.

But Sam had told Ed in a clipped statement on the way to the SUVs that he was likely to do something he would regret if he had to be anywhere near Blaze or Daphne at the moment. Ed had nodded and immediately separated the three. Sam was relieved.

At the barn Sam had not seriously thought of taking Blaze up on his offer to beat the crap out of him if it was Daphy. But now he was sorely tempted to do so because his raging at Daphy had terrified the little boy. For that alone Blaze deserved retribution of some sort.

Sam forced himself to be calm taking slow breaths in and out. The little boy moved closer to him leaving no gap between them now as if seeking comfort.

Winds noticed how quickly the boy latched onto Blondie and smiled.

Sam looked down to the boy then wrapped his arm around him and pulled him snugly against his side. He felt the slight tremble that still coursed through the boy.

Matt looked up at Sam with fear still in his big green eyes and asked tentatively "Why was that man so mean to my mommy? Why did he yell at her?"

Sam was at a loss as to what to say to the boy. He looked up and saw Wordy turned in the seat looking back at them. Sam's eyes communicated to Wordy he needed help.

In the voice he used with his little girls Wordy said "Little buddy it will be okay. Sometimes adults yell at each other when they are upset. I know it can be scary. But Sam will keep you safe until they work it out. Do you feel safe with Sam?"

Matt nodded and laid his little head into Sam's lap.

Sam gently stroked the little boy's hair as he settled into his lap. He felt the trembling stop and silently mouthed 'thank you' to Wordy.

Wordy smiled and nodded at Sam in return then turned forward again. Wordy thought, that boy has a connection already, almost like he knows Sam would go to the ends of the earth for him.

Jules had kept glancing in the rear-view mirror watching that play out. After the boy laid his head in Sam's lap she got lost in her thoughts as she drove. When she had heard the boy tell Sam his full name her heart jerked and stopped. She was glad for Sam. The boy was a little piece of his best friend that would live on.

She knew, just knew that given half a chance Sam would ensure that Matt was always taken care of. Wordy was absolutely right Sam would do everything in his power to keep that boy safe. She saw how quickly Sam had tamped down his own angry emotions and assumed a calm exterior so he wouldn't upset the boy further when Blaze and Daphne ranted at each other.

Then she thought about Daphne. That woman had a lot to explain, but she would reserve judgement. It looked bad but appearances could be deceiving. They were finally nearing the barn; the drive from the outskirts of the city had been nearly forty minutes.

All had been silent since Wordy had answered the boy's question just after getting into the truck. Everyone had heard him over the headsets and not a single word had been spoken since.

Jules glanced back again. The look of gentle wonder on Sam's face as he gazed at the now sleeping boy warmed her heart. A random thought popped into her head and made her smile, Sam would make an awesome dad someday.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Dispatch Desk_**

For the second time today Winnie saw a silent Team One enter SRU HQ, file passed her and not acknowledge her. Luckily no one appeared injured but the looks on their faces ranged from stunned to curious to enraged. Sam was the last to enter even behind all the JTF2 guys.

Winnie could not pull her eyes away from his face. Sam was carrying a small sleeping boy so carefully in his arms. The look was one that said he had someone extremely rare and precious in his care. Her heart flipped over so many times seeing that look.

As Sam approached Winnie he glanced up. He gave her a huge grin and whispered softly so as not to wake the child "Hey Winnie. Can you please find me a blanket and maybe round up a small snack for him? Also is conference room 3 available?"

Winnie nodded yes.

Sam then said "Great. Let Sarge know I'll be in there and he can get me only after things settle down in the main briefing room."

Winnie nodded and smiled not knowing exactly what Sam meant by settle down but hurried off to do as he had asked.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Greg looked at the group assembled in the room. Tension was strung so tight and close to snapping. Looking between Blaze and Daphne there was definitely another storm coming and he would not be able to stop it. Then he noticed two were missing from the room. Where were Sam and the boy?

Winnie walked in and instantly felt the unexploded rage emanating from several of them. Wow she understood now. That little boy did not need to be around whatever was about to happen in here. Sam had picked the sound-proofed conference room furthest away from the briefing room. She headed straight for Sarge.

Greg noticed Winnie coming directly at him and that she had a blanket over one arm and bag of Disney shaped crackers and small carton of juice in her hand.

"Boss, Sam is in conference room 3 with the boy. Said you could get him only after things settled down in here" Winnie informed Greg.

Greg nodded then watched as Winnie exited the room. He realized what Sam was doing and thought Wordy was right, Sam would protect that boy.

Ed sidled up to Greg "Greg, where's Sam?"

Greg took his hat off and rubbed his head and eyes then tilted his head and smiled "Protecting Matt."

"Ah, right." He smiled at the thought. "Probably a good thing. We don't need three of them going at it. Don't really want to arrest Sam for murder either."

Greg looked sharply at Ed "What do you mean by that Eddie?"

Ed shared with him what Sam had said on the way to the SUVs.

Greg nodded, he hadn't seen the reaction, but it made sense. The boy had cried loudly when those two had yelled.

Ed looked seriously at Greg "So how are we going to proceed? We need to hand her over to JTF2 but I don't trust her in Blaze's care at the moment. I can see what Sam meant about them being in the same room. I see Winds, Angus and Hal have positioned themselves between them. This ain't gonna be pretty."

* * *

 ** _Outside SRU HQ_**

Yassin removed his helmet and wiped the sweat away. Too damned hot out today. He wished he was back home, at least it was a dry heat there he thought. He pulled the phone out and placed a call. "Mousa, both are at the same location for now. SRU headquarters. Let Fadel and Syed know I'm across the street. What do you want me to do?"

 _[Mousa instructed "Watch for now. They have to either release her or transport her to the processing center."]_

Something caught his eye. One of the SRU officers he saw at the farmhouse was walking into the parking structure. But he was dressed differently now. "Hang on a moment, need to check something out."

Yassin sprinted across the street and found a place he could observe without being seen. Strange the officer was now dressed in an Army uniform and was carrying a sniper rifle and he headed to a Humvee then stowed the rifle. As Yassin watched, another one from the farmhouse joined him also dressed in Army gear. He was close enough to hear.

Daniel trotted up to Russ and said with incredulity in his voice "Hey Russ, can you believe that shit? Blaze totally lost it man. Scared the crap out of the boy. I'm surprised Blondie didn't deck him right then and there."

Russ nodded as he closed and locked the Humvee. He leaned back on it and then said "I know right. Winds looked like he wanted to do it too. I'm glad we don't have to be in that room right now. Never seen Blaze so uncontrolled; that is going to be ugly, very ugly. I'm glad Parker and Lane are making Daphne and her brother have it out and settle it before we leave for the safe house. Wonder if Blondie will ever let that boy go?"

Daniel's voice was laced with amazement "Don't think so. That poor boy was quaking so badly as he clung to Blondie. Christ, he went all protective and got him outta there so fast. But I guess that is to be expected, being that it is Matt's son." Daniel shook his head at the memory of Blondie holding the little boy and gently trying to comfort him as Blaze and Daphne went at it.

Russ's mind was on the same imagery. As he pushed off of the Humvee and started for the entrance he said "Yep. But you gotta wonder how Blondie's going to react when his mind finally registers that the boy will never meet his father. It's probably going to hurt like hell knowing he killed the boy's father. I don't know if I could ever handle something like that."

Daniel grimaced at that thought but remained silent as he fell into step with Russ and headed back in to SRU HQ.

Yassin watched until they entered the building then said "Boss we have big trouble. They weren't all SRU, the Army is involved. You should have listened to me long ago. Daphne is definitely not who we thought she was. They are planning to take her and the boy to a safe house. We need a plan." He then relayed the exact words he overheard.

 _["Stay on them and follow them to the safe house. We'll take care of things there." After hanging up Mousa raged._

 _He had been duped by a mere woman for five years. No wonder deals kept falling through and intel did not pan out as expected. She would pay and so would her boy and anyone else who got in the way of his revenge. He should have listened to Yassin all those years ago._

 _Mousa was mad that he had yet to find anything out on a Matthew Benjamin Hunter. It was like he never existed. Then a thought hit him, men that didn't exist were spooks and Special Forces. He wondered which this man was._

 _Then he remembered what Yassin had just said, the father was dead. Good, one less person to worry about possibly seeking revenge when he killed the boy. Now he just needed to figure out how to proceed. He needed to get some information out of Daphne before he got rid of her for good.]_

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Conference Room 3_**

Sam gently rocked back and forth in the chair holding the boy. He had fully intended to lay him on the floor when Winnie had brought the blanket but he could not seem to let him go. He was glad he had removed his tact vest before picking him up out of the SUV.

It felt so good to have little Matt's head cradled next to his heart. It was like being close to Matt again. He had been sitting here for nearly an hour as good memories of Matt played in his head. He wanted, no needed, to remember all the details. He needed to be able to paint the rich picture of his father to this little boy.

One memory darted into his head. It was the time they were pinned in a shallow hole with mortars going off all around them. They both thought they would die that night. That was bad, part of the reason he still hated thunder and lightning but the part he focused on now was the conversation they had that night.

Assuming that death would come for them before morning light, they spent the night sharing thoughts of things they would never get to do. Matt had wanted a family. He wanted kids. Matt had wanted one of each, a boy and a girl.

Sam remembered asking what Matt would name them. Without hesitation he said Samantha for a girl and Benjamin for a boy. Sam had punched him in the arm and laughed heartily when Matt had said he would name the girl Samantha name so he could always have a Sam in his life.

Then he had then asked Matt why Benjamin. Matt had replied that he just liked his middle name. He confided he wished He had chosen to name himself Benjamin Matthew so people would just call him Ben. But he had selected Matthew Benjamin and now it was too hard for people to make the switch when they already knew him as Matt.

After that night Sam had sometimes called him Ben when Matt needed cheering up. It was always met with a huge smile and a laugh. But Matt was right, it was hard to change and call him Ben, he kept reverting to calling him Matt. Especially when he was in need. And unfortunately that was a lot back then.

A fresh image of Matt's smile and remembrance of his laughter danced in Sam's head he looked down at the boy's sweet sleeping face. Sam decided then and there that he would ask the boy if he could call him Ben. Whether he agreed or not in his eyes the boy would always and forever be Matt's boy Ben.

It would be a way to honor Matt. It hurt knowing that he was the reason Ben would never meet his dad. But he would make sure that he knew what kind of person his dad was. How special Matt was and how much he had meant to him.

Sam couldn't help himself as his thoughts strayed to darker things. He hoped that Daphne would allow him to be part of Ben's life. That she wouldn't cut him out when she found out he was the one that killed Matt.

Maybe she already knew. If not that was going to be tough to tell Daphne. Matt and Daphy had dated only a month or so before she had to leave on assignment. But he could see that they had something special. Man it was going to hurt telling her what he had done.

Then he froze, oh god no. He would have to tell Ben he killed his dad. Sam's heart raced.

It hurt too damned much. Anxiety rapidly increased to a point he was hyperventilating and could not catch his breath to save his life. With the lack of oxygen the edges of his vision were starting to fade.

Just then Leah and Jules walked in. They both saw Sam's state.

Jules quickly walked to Sam and pulled a chair in front of him and sat as she said "Sam, calm, slow breaths, sniper breathing." She could see him struggling significantly to bring himself under control.

In a gentle, tender and soft voice she coaxed him to calm "Whatever it is, it is okay. It will be okay. Relax, I'm here. Tell me what it is. You know you can tell me anything."

Jules soothingly brushed her hand up and down his arm at the speed he should be inhaling and exhaling; providing him a tangible, physical example to emulate. Jules could see Sam was slowly regaining control.

Leah was transfixed watching their interaction.

Sam did not register Leah in the room as he looked directly into Jules' eyes connecting and holding on. As his breathing normalized he rasped out full of crushing anguish "Oh god Jules, I have to tell him. I don't want to but I have to. I have to tell him."

Leah saw Sam shudder and watched as tears slipped down his face. She wondered what was so bad that it affected him so profoundly. What did he have to tell and to whom?

Jules reached forward and lightly brushed through his hair. Sam was so distraught and needed comfort. It was all she could do at the moment. "Sam, he's too young to know now. You have time to figure it out; how to tell him when he is old enough to understand."

Overpowering anxiety laced Sam's gravelly words "But what if Ben hates me when I do finally tell him? It would kill me Jules. It would kill me just as assuredly as I killed Matt. How can I tell Ben I killed his dad? I don't …"

He didn't finish because Jules leaned forward and kissed his forehead lightly.

Jules wondered why Sam was calling the boy Ben but she realized it must be very important to him. "Sssshhhh. It will be okay. Ben will understand. Blaze will help him understand, it wasn't your fault. It was Major Plouffe's, he gave the all clear. Ben will know you did not mean to shoot Matt."

Sam was staring at Jules, agonizing pain and guilt infused every word "But I'm responsible. I'm the one that pulled the trigger; it was my bullet that killed him. I killed Matt. I killed my best friend and now I have to tell his son that I did it. Ben will never meet his dad. Matt will never know he had a son. I robbed them of each other. It will always be my fault, I should have seen him. I shouldn't have fired. I should have known. I should …"

Jules realized in that moment that Sam would never fully forgive himself. Sam would carry the guilt to his grave even though it was truly not his fault. There was absolutely nothing she could say to change his mind.

So she did the only thing she could think of to get him to stop talking about it. Jules placed her hands on the sides of his head, pulled his head forward slightly as she leaned toward him and kissed him softly and gently on the lips.

Standing stock still, Leah listened and watched them. She felt bad for being there. Even though she had come with Jules, she knew neither realized she was there now. Jules' actions towards Sam were so delicate and compassionate that she felt she was intruding. She heard the intense pain, anguish and guilt in Sam's voice and realized Jules was offering comfort on a level that spoke of a deep personal relationship between them.

Leah could not even begin to imagine how Sam carried a burden like that. She now understood why Wordy and Jules had not told her about Matt. Some things were just too private to share. Much like what she was observing now. It was clear there was a powerful desire just under the surface being pushed down hard by both of them.

She wondered when and if it would burst through their control. Then she thought that whatever it was between those two belonged only to them. It would never be her place to say anything to anyone about what she had just seen.

Leah was about to clear her throat to make her presence known when a small groggy voice said "Yer squichin me."

Jules pulled back instantly like an invisible retractable cord had yanked her hard backwards.

Sam registered not only that Ben was awake but that Leah was in the room and blushed as he quickly pulled himself together. Jules' kiss had shocked him out of his dark thoughts. She was right he had time; Ben was too young to understand right now. He quickly wiped the tears from his face before Ben could see.

Jules seeing him blush brought back the fact the Leah had come to the room with her. Her head whipped to Leah, shock and concern in her eyes.

Leah opened the door behind her and as she backed out she quietly but firmly said "I was never here, I saw nothing. Nothing at all." She made eye contact with both of them and smiled just before she softly closed the door.

Sam looked at Ben and tousled his hair "Hungry?"

Ben nodded yes. Sam sat him up and rolled toward the table. Jules reached over an opened the Disney crackers. She picked up the juice carton and stabbed the straw into it. The Jules handed it to Ben who smiled at her.

Jules knew Sam needed a few minutes to get himself under better control so said "Boss said things are calm now. I'll let him know that he just woke up and that you two will join us after he finishes his snack."

Sam nodded and mouthed 'thank you'.

Jules smiled rose and walked to the door and before opening it said "Always." As she closed the door behind her she saw Leah just outside the door waiting. "Leah what you saw…"

Leah put up a hand and said "What I saw was one teammate helping another teammate. That is all. Nothing more, nothing less." She looked at Jules and smiled. "Let's go." As they walked back to the briefing room Leah thought Wordy was right, it would just take time. But the more she found out the more she was glad that the team picked her. This was an awesome team.

Back inside the room Sam said "Hey buddy got a favor to ask. Would you mind if I called you Ben?"

Matt looked at him strangely "Why?"

Sam smiled and said softly "I knew your dad. He was my best friend. He would have called you Ben. It could be something special between us."

Matt grinned and said "Okay you can call me Ben. I like my middle name better anyways. You know my daddy, where is he? When can I see him?"

Sam's heart broke and he sighed. Then he gently explained to Ben that his daddy was gone and shared a few good memories about Matt with him. He was surprised at how well the boy took the news. Maybe it was easier because he had never actually met his dad. Sam was saddened by that fact even if it did make it less painful for the boy to accept it.

When Sam was done telling a funny story about Matt, Ben piped up "My daddy liked you?"

"Yeah we were best friends for nearly ten years. We were like brothers" Sam replied.

"If you call me Ben, can I call you Unca Sam?" Ben asked.

Sam's heart burst with joy. He gave Ben a WOW smile and nodded yes.

Then as kids do Ben's attention was drawn to something new. He got very excited with one of the Disney crackers he pulled out of the bag. "Oh goodie Donald Duck. I like Donald Duck. He my favorite. He is funny when he gets mad."

Sam smiled as Ben bit the head off Donald Duck.

Ben turned to him and poked at the bruise on his jaw "Unca Sam, why is it so purple there?"

He rubbed his sore jaw "Um, I err, just bumped it on something." Sam's thoughts turned devious, "Did your mom tell you that you have an Uncle named Donald?"

Ben shook his head no.

"Well you do and he blusters, quacks and squawks just like Donald Duck." Sam launched into an explanation of who Blaze was and a severely edited version of how brother and sister behaved and that they really cared about each other even though they yelled.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Greg was sitting in his chair exhausted. It had taken all his negotiation skills to manage the Blain siblings as they hashed out personal issues. Winds had demanded that Blaze disarm completely before they began. Greg took the further precaution of having everyone do the same after Winds explained a scar he had on his arm from a previous encounter with the siblings. A few times it took several of the team and unit to separate them before they came to actual physical blows. Sam was right, how the hell did those two survive childhood in the same house?

Finally they had spent their furious energy and had become rational human beings. Daphne had been devastated to learn Matt was dead but mostly because Mattie wouldn't not have a chance to meet or be with his dad. Blaze had briefly shared how Plouffe gave the all clear before Blondie fired and no one knew why Matt was there. Once she knew how it happened Daphne had been so concerned about how it affected Sam.

Then Daphne had explained that she didn't know she was pregnant when she took the assignment. That Matt and she had only really dated for three weeks. Blaze had asked her how she could be so stupid as not to take precautions to prevent it.

She had blushed deeply when she said it only takes once to create a child. That kind of detail effectively shut Blaze up on that subject. It was definitely too much information about his baby sister.

Daphne did not go into any details of the assignment. That was not something the SRU team was cleared for. She explained the Army would debrief her. But she did explain why she had left a trail to her now. How she needed to protect her son once he lost his fear of strangers and started speaking openly and freely to others.

Blaze had laid into her for taking such a risk in the first place. He had backed off quickly and his face took on an astonished look after she had privately whispered some details to him.

In the end Winds, Wordy and Ed had admonished both of them over their behavior at the farmhouse. They told them the affect it had on the boy and how Sam had handled it. Both were ashamed to hear what they had done to Matt. Both were glad Sam had taken action to protect him. Blaze and Daphne had moved off to the back of the room and were talking softly for some time now.

Greg checked his watch. They had been waiting for about fifteen minutes now for Sam to join them. Jules said the boy was having a snack and they would be in when he was done. Greg was reaching for a water bottle as Sam walked in with a grinning and laughing boy on his shoulders. The smile on Sam's face brought one to everyone in the room.

Sam looked around the room as he entered and saw that the JTF2 unit had all changed back to Army uniforms. Blaze and Daphne were talking quietly in the back of the room. Good they didn't actually kill each other.

He was rather happy he didn't have to witness it. It was always so horrid to watch two people he cared about treat each other that way. Everyone had turned and smiled when they entered.

Ben saw his mom and happily called out "Unca Sam knew my daddy. He said he wanted to call me Ben. Can I be Ben? Please mommy?"

The choice of words shocked the room. He said knew not knows and wanted not wants. Sam looked to Daphne and could tell she heard the past tense of the words and said "Daphne I'm sorry …" that was as far as he got.

Daphne had flown to him and had her arms wrapped tightly around him in a bear hug as she said "Sam I'm so sorry. Matt loved you like a brother. He would never blame you. I don't blame you either."

She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then she reached for Ben taking him from Sam's shoulders and hugged him tightly too. She looked at Sam. "What did you tell Matt?"

The boy interrupted. "Mommy I wanna be called Ben. Unca Sam said daddy would've called me that. Please, peas, peas, I wanna be Ben. Daddy liked his middle name better too, just like me. I'm just like daddy, Unca Sam says so."

Her son beamed with pride at her. She had never seen him this happy. Daphne looked to Sam then to her son then back to Sam. How the heck had Sam established a connection so fast with her son?

Looking back at Matt she said slowly and carefully "Okay sweetie you can be called Ben." Then she looked back to Sam with a quizzical lift to her brows and said questioningly "What exactly did you tell _Ben_?"

"Only that his dad was my best friend and that he was gone. I shared a few funny memories and why Matt would have called him Ben. The rest will have to wait til he can understand." Sam said. "He needed to know and I thought that I should be the one to tell him given the circumstances. I'm sorry if I overstepped …" Again he was cut-off by a tight hug.

Tears of happiness were in Daphne's eyes as she said "You did good Sam. Thank you. We will talk later about all this and decide how and when." She smiled at him. "I want you part of Ben's life. Matt would want that too."

Ben squirmed in his mom's arms and wiggled out of her grasp as she talked to Sam.

He walked over to Blaze and stood with his little feet planted firmly, hands on hips and face stern "Unca Donald Duck you not yell at my mommy again. That's not nice."

Blaze stared at the boy, 'Unca Donald Duck'? What the hell? He looked to Blondie and raised an eyebrow.

Sam gently rubbed his jaw and grinned. Revenge was so sweet. There was nothing Blaze hated more than his first name. Blaze got the message loud and clear, payback was a bitch.

The rest of the group was ping ponging between the two. There was an unvoiced conversation going on between them. But they settled on Blaze as he bent down and scooped up the boy with a huge grin on his face. "I promise to not yell at your mommy. You can call me Uncle Blaze."

In a whinny voice Ben said "But I like Unca Donald Duck. Unca Sam told me you act all angry and quack like Donald Duck. I like Donald Duck, so now I won't be ascared if you yell anymore. But you can't yell at my mommy, you promised. We are supposed to protect mommies. Right Unca Donald Duck?"

Sam was trying so hard not to laugh at the incredulous look on Blaze's face.

Blaze thought, Blondie had screwed him royally, he would forever be Unca Donald Duck and he could never rage at Daphy again, he had made a promise. Damn he wished Blondie would have just beaten the crap out of him. This was cruel and unusual revenge. Just how the hell had he come up with it? Blaze shook his head then scowled at Blondie.

Sam just smiled back.

Winds walked up to Blaze and slapped his back not even trying to hide his amusement at how Blondie had gotten revenge. He laughed as he said "I think we have a new call sign for you Ducky."

"Watch it Master Warrant Officer Simons or I'll bust you all the way back down to Master Corporal" Blaze said with mock anger.

Winds just laughed and said "As if I really care about that. Only got my rank back cause of the General after we took out that terrorist group."

Blaze was opening his mouth to retort.

Greg wanted to cut off any potential arguing so he quickly said before Blaze could respond "So next steps. Ms. Blain you and Ben will be placed into protective custody of this JTF2 unit. Captain Blain, SRU is releasing them as of now into your custody. Do you accept?"

Moving back to soldier mode Blaze responded "Yes and I would like to express the thanks of the Army and my own personal appreciation for your team's assistance. We will be heading out now." He walked over to Blondie hugged him and said "I'll be in touch soon. We all have a lot to discuss regarding Ben."

Sam simply nodded.

As Ben's mom tried to lead him from the room he broke away, ran to Sam and jumped into his arms "I wanna stay with Unca Sam."

Sam gazed into Ben's eyes and said "Buddy, you gotta go with your mom and Uncle Donald Duck right now. I'll see you later. I promise." Sam hugged him and kissed the top of his head before handing him off to Blaze. He stood watching them all walk toward the exit.

Greg said "Okay team time to debrief."

Sam heard Sarge but didn't turn back to the briefing room until they all had left the building. When he turned he saw the whole team was staring at him. One by one they came up to him and simply gave him a hug. No words needed. Sam walked to and sat down in his usual spot and grabbed a bottle of water. He swiveled back and forth letting the tension flow from his body.

Debrief was short and easy. Everything had gone off without much of a hitch. Greg had a ton of paperwork to complete on the unusual warrant call so he said "So now we play inside, inventory. Off you go."

The team rose without complaint and headed to the gun cage to start inventory.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Gun Cage_**

It was an hour and a half later and the team, minus Sarge, was getting close to finishing inventory. The conversation had centered on Ben mostly. Sam had shared his memory that prompted the name change. Everyone had laughed long and hard as Sam explained his revenge on Blaze.

Spike said "Buddy you have a wicked sense of humor. I'm gonna be more careful about pranking you. You might actually disassemble Babycakes."

Sam grinned wickedly and responded mischievously knowing Spike would get the references "Disassemble, no disassemble. But maybe take Babycakes swimming."

Spike laughed and shoved Sam playfully. Sam just smiled.

Jules smiled at the brotherly interaction. She wondered at Spike's mention of Babycakes. He had ignored everything bomb related since Lou's death. He hadn't mentioned Babycakes once in the past month and a half. It was nice to hear.

The claxon alarms sounded off.

They all groaned a tiny bit, time to go back out in the muggy heat.

"Team One. Hot Call. Automatic gunfire. Several injured. Possible abduction" Winnie called out over the loudspeaker.

The team immediately began gearing up as Greg rounded the corner to join them. He donned his headset first then called out "Winnie, what details do we have?" The team all had their headsets on now too.

Winnie calmly reported "Multiple reports coming in to 911. Many shooters involved. All armed with automatic weapons. Hold a sec, more details coming."

As they finished arming themselves and headed for the SUVs Wordy said "I hope this is not another gang war."

Sam climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV he was sharing with Leah today and responded "You and me both. It would be too damned hot to run after someone like Bastos today that man was a damned rabbit."

The team chuckled lightly but settled quickly when they heard Winnie come back on the line.

Winnie chimed in again "Okay got a location, sending to PDAs." Her voice broke a bit as she said the next part "Shooters include six men in Army uniforms and at least ten others. A woman and child have been abducted at gunpoint and taken by force from the scene. EMS is enroute but will hold back until the scene is secured. Active gunfire still taking place."

The team understood why Winnie's voice had cracked. This was bad. The SUVs raced out of the garage with lights flashing and sirens blaring.


	6. The Tarp, Safe House & Anything for Ben

**The Tarp, Safe House & Anything for Ben**

* * *

 ** _Two Hours Prior – Isolated Warehouse Complex_**

Assaf Murad was standing with several other men as Abdul Khaliq Mousa ranted at them. He had been with Daphne at the farmhouse when SRU had taken her. He had breathed a sigh of relief.

Daphne had to get out; it had become too risky for her and boy. She had stayed much longer than Assaf had wanted. Their work was important and many people had been saved over the years by their mis-direction and destruction of intel but it wasn't worth risking Matt's life. The boy was an innocent and needed to be protected. So they had quickly found a way for her to leave without raising too much suspicion.

But now she and the boy were in danger again. Somehow Mousa had discovered she was in the custody of the Army. He had to get a message to her somehow. But how?

He had limited options. Just after the SRU left ten of Mousa's men showed up and dragged him back here. He saw the plastic tarps out on the floor. This was not good, not good at all.

People were dying today, the tarps always meant that. He hoped it wasn't him. Hoped his profile was low enough. But you never knew what would set off Mousa. He was an irrational and deadly SOB.

Mousa yelled "Where is Assaf?"

Assaf flinched as he looked to Mousa.

Mousa stared at Assaf and said harshly "Kneel there NOW!"

Assaf moved forward and knelt on the ground in front of him with his head bowed down. Shifting nervously around the two stood nearly forty men. Mousa began shouting at Assaf and continued for several minutes. Assaf tried his best to placate and apologize but it was falling on deaf ears.

Mousa lifted the gun he held and placed it at Assaf's temple.

Assaf bowed his head and thought forgive me Daphne I can't protect you and Mattie now.

Mousa shouted "You failed me. You were asleep when they came and took Daphne. I do not accept failure." He fired the gun and Assaf dropped dead on the large plastic tarp. "Remove that useless waste of skin."

Several men rushed forward to comply, rolling Assaf up in the tarp and dragging him out of the room.

"As for the rest of you, fail me and that will be your fate. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded yes. Mousa pointed the gun at another "Raashid, there now." Mousa motioned with the gun to another plastic tarp as he said "Did you find out anything yet?"

Raashid glanced at where Assaf had been as he hurried forward and knelt on the plastic tarp where Mousa had indicated. He was petrified but glad he had information to share; otherwise he would definitely meet the same fate. Mousa was in an extremely volatile state today.

Bowing his head Raashid hesitantly stammered out "I could find no information on Daphne, she does not exist under either Hunter or Duncan names. But I did find information on Matthew Benjamin Hunter."

"There was an obituary a few years ago. He was a Master Corporal in the Army. He wasn't married; it didn't list any children or other family. So Daphne was not his wife. There were no details what so ever available on his death. His death certificate did not even list cause of death. So I assume Special Forces" Raashid shared then blew out a shaky breath as he saw in his peripheral vision that the gun slowly lowered a bit.

He lifted his head slightly so he could see part of Mousa's face as he continued "I researched SRU teams based on the descriptions Yassin provided. It appears to be the one they call Team One who took them. It is the only team that has one blonde guy, two women and two bald guys on it."

"I investigated the team members and one is ex-Army, Samuel Braddock. Yassin said there was only one blonde at the farmhouse so I assume the Blondie comments made by the two Army men were in reference to him. He joined SRU shortly after Hunter died. Again, based on Yassin's report of all he saw and heard, I'm assuming that Braddock killed Hunter. But I could find no details on how or why."

Mousa was nodding his head.

Raashid was beginning to relax just a bit and sat back on his heels. Looking up now at Mousa he said "I also found out that a General Braddock is in charge of Special Forces and that Samuel is his son. So like I said, I assume those that took her are Special Forces."

"I was unable to locate any details on the Army personnel; call signs and first names are not helpful for that and Yassin did not send pictures. Yassin also indicated none of the men had names on their uniforms, another indicator they are SF. So we need to assume the men that have Daphne are extremely well trained and prepared appropriately. It will not be easy to get her back."

Raashid finished and waited to see if the gun rose. He was in silent prayer when he remembered another small tidbit. If he did not tell all and it came out later he would be dead.

He sucked in a breath then stated "One last thing and I was not able to discern which one is Daphne's brother, other than it is not Braddock. He had two sisters, one died long ago; the other looks nothing like Daphne. One of the other SRU or Army must be related but without last names or pictures I cannot tell you."

He nervously awaited Mousa's reaction to his news. He hoped he would not die because he had to make assumptions instead of knowing for sure and did not know everything Mousa had told him to find out.

Mousa stared at him with a hard look raising the gun again "Assumptions are dangerous."

Terrified Raashid instantly bowed his head and started praying. He knew just knew he was a dead man now. Sweat drenched him and dripped from his forehead as he waited for the cold metal to touch his temple.

It didn't come and after a few moments Mousa said "But yours are erring on being more cautious. I was thinking Special Forces too." He tucked the gun in the back of his pants and motioned Raashid to rise and move away from the plastic tarp.

Raashid did not need to be told twice. As he scrambled to rise and comply he looked down at the front of his pants embarrassed. He needed to change, he was soaked and it was not from sweat.

Mousa paced back and forth. He had to think. Raashid was right; it would not be easy to get her back. He would need to send more than just Yassin, Syed and Fadel. There were six potential Special Forces men watching Daphne. He would need to send a small army to deal with them. He knew many of who he sent would be dead before the day was out but he did not give a damn; they were a dime a dozen. They could all die for all he cared so long as he got her back.

Turning to the group of men Mousa said "I want both the woman and the boy brought here alive. I want everyone watching her dead. She may have already shared information and we cannot have that. I will give you orders where to go once Yassin reports in. For now arm yourselves fully and be ready."

He turned and stalked out of the room as he brooded. Damned woman, he would have no problem torturing her for the information he needed from her. She could not have acted alone for all these years. She had to have had inside help.

Mousa figured he had another traitor and he needed to find out who it was. But it wouldn't be physical torture; he couldn't wait to see the pain he inflicted on her when he threatened to hurt and kill the boy. She would talk quickly then.

He needed to set things up here to make the threat real. So pulled out his phone "Qasim, I need your skill set. Within the next hour I expect you to be ready. I need you to get some items and set up …"

* * *

 ** _Safe House – Flashback 1 Hour Ago_**

Blaze hung up the phone as he entered the kitchen of the safe house. Russ and Daphne were busy making simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone. Peanut butter was a staple in safe houses, jelly was a treat left by the last occupant.

He spared a quick glance into the family room. Ben was sitting on Winds lap watching the Disney channel. Damn Winds, he found a Donald Duck cartoon. Blaze thought he was gonna find a way to get back at Blondie.

He turned to Daphy and said "So Daphy, the debrief team is expected to be here in two hours."

Daphne turned to look at Blaze "Ok Donald" she giggled at the scowl he threw her way. "I promise I'll stop calling you Donald. Soon" and she giggled harder.

Blaze glared at her, lifted one eyebrow and said "You better or I'll resort to calling you Daffy Duck again."

Russ ducked his head hiding his mirth. Blaze would find a way to make him pay if he saw him laughing. He couldn't contain himself as he thought Donald Duck and Daffy Duck; those two were quite a pair. A small laugh escaped and he quickly tried to cover it up by fake coughing several times. "Sorry, ugg, em something caught in my throat."

"Yeah if you're not careful it will be my foot" Blaze growled out and thought again damn Blondie. He continued more reasonably "Russ after you grab a bite, I need you to relieve Angus in the observation perch. With this heat we need to rotate more often, but maybe you can pull a double shift if ya don't quit laughing."

Russ wiped the traces of laughter from his face, grabbed a sandwich and headed out. No way in hell he was pulling a double shift in this heat.

Blaze watched him go and smiled and thought good that shut him up. He turned to Daniel who was seated at the table and said seriously "This safe house is way out of date in surveillance cameras. Nothing updated in over ten years since the last time I was in this place. Same poor camera positions. Too many fuc..."

Daphne pinned Blaze with a look and declared with authority "Watch your language, Matt, um I mean Ben is in the other room. That little boy is repeating everything, and I mean absolutely everything he hears lately. I don't want him starting in with foul language so early. Got it."

Blaze smiled at his sister and nodded. She had changed in many ways in the past five years. From what he had observed in the short time they had been together today she had matured, was less reckless and looked to be a great mom. So he cleaned up his language as he continued his conversation with Daniel "Too many blind spots."

Daniel looked up from the blueprints that he had spread out on the kitchen table and said "Blaze, I've determined where we should position ourselves. It is not good by any means; as you said way too many blind spots. Wish we would have had time to grab civies to change into. Think we drew too much attention arriving in our uniforms."

"This neighborhood is more spread-out than most but with all those people out front five houses down having that picnic when we arrived. It concerns me; it might be a problem if things go sideways here. Hard to keep our actions quiet if you know what I mean. We need a change of location before tonight. We need something more secure and less dangerous to the civilians."

Blaze nodded "Thought the exact same thing. I have a gut feeling about this place. It is not good. Too open, too accessible, not secure enough; called it in already. Colonel Sutton is due to get back to us with a new location before tonight. Said to sit tight for now. So show me what you came up with; we have to work with what we got for now."

The two reviewed Daniel's plans. Blaze agreed it was not good but it was the best they could do given the circumstances.

He rose and said "After you grab a sandwich, inform the others and execute the plan. Winds and I will be primary in the house with Daphy and Ben."

Daphy handed Blaze sandwiches for Ben and Winds. As he entered the family room he stopped and looked at Ben. He was an Uncle and that felt awesome. He never thought he would be one.

When they thought Daphy had died all hope of ever being one had disappeared. All family had vanished. For so long it had just been the two of them. Then he had lost her too and he was alone; that had hurt too much.

He had just turned eighteen the week before their parents died in the car crash. Hit by some idiot teenager drag racing. Daphy was only seven. They had no other family so he had become her guardian and raised her.

She was a hellion growing up and they fought like cats and dogs but he loved her dearly. They were all each other had. So when he lost her it felt like he lost both a baby sister and a daughter.

His mind drifted back nearly five years as he remembered how badly he had broken when he thought she was gone.

 _His and Blondie's roles had been reversed the night Blondie realized how acutely the loss had impacted him. Blondie became the father figure, care taker and he became the kid who needed help._

 _Without Blondie he would not be here today. He was in such a daze that night he didn't even realize he had not properly secured his parachute and if he had pulled the line the chute would have been ripped from his body. He would have free fallen to his death._

 _They were the last two to make the jump that night. The rest of the unit had already exited the plane. Just as he had jumped Blondie saw it was unclasped. Blondie tried to grab him but missed by a hairs breath. So Blondie jumped straight after him in a dive position._

 _When Blondie reached him, Blondie wrapped his arms and legs around his body. It had surprised him and he reacted by trying to throw Blondie off. That caused them to start tumbling head over heels as they plummeted towards the ground._

 _Blondie had yelled at him to be still then buckled the clasps properly as fast as he could. It was difficult because they were tumbling but somehow Blondie did it. Then Blondie pulled his line for him and released him. Blondie pulled his own line shortly after._

 _They had been knocked way off course and were both so low when the chutes opened it was a fast, hard landing. Blondie had located him within five minutes and determined that Blaze had broken his leg, cracked several ribs and dislocated his shoulder. Blondie sat up with him all night helping him manage his physical and emotional pain before the rescue team found them in the morning._

 _He had cried all night long in Blondie's arms as the pain of losing Daphy engulfed him. It wasn't until after they returned to base that he even knew that Blondie was hurt badly too. The kid had a broken arm, cracked ribs, bruised kidney and a concussion but he gave no indications of pain as he had cared for him all night._

 _Blondie never told anyone in the unit how badly he had broken, never shared that he had cried like a baby on his shoulder all night. Said it was private, that he understood the pain. He had never asked what Blondie meant by that, too embarrassed by his own actions to bring the subject up again. It wasn't until the night they rescued Blondie from the ravine after the gang war that he understood how Blondie understood his pain of losing a little sister._

Blaze shook himself out of the memory. He was an uncle. Awesome! Because of Blondie he was here to be an uncle. He decided that Blondie was safe from retribution for the Donald Duck name.

He grinned as he watched Ben emulate an angry Donald Duck. Damn the kid was cute; he had claimed a huge chunk of his heart in just a few short hours. He walked the rest of the way in and gave the sandwiches to them.

Winds looked at him and said "I never realized that you do actually sound like and resemble Donald Duck when you rage."

Blaze slugged him in the arm.

Rubbing his arm and laughing Winds said "Watch it or Daphy will tell you off for demonstrating bad behaviors in front of Jr. here."

Blaze plopped down on the sofa and Ben crawled into his lap.

Ben looked up at his uncle and with a mouth full of peanut butter and jelly sandwich said "I like you Unca Donald Duck. Unca Sam said you would keep me safe."

He kissed Blaze's cheek leaving smears of PB&J. Then Ben pounced into Winds lap just as Winds had taken a bite.

Winds nearly choked on the bite.

"I like you too Unca Windy but you talks a lot. Is that why they call you Windy?" His little hands smeared PB&J across Winds shirt as he climbed up to kiss his cheek too.

Both men turned and smiled at each other. Damn the boy quickly embedded himself deeply into their hearts. So like his dad. God it felt good to have a little piece of Matt again.

* * *

 ** _Present Time – Enroute to Safe House_**

Ed called out "Sam, you okay for this? I gotta know truthfully."

Sam had clamped down his emotions and locked them away. He pulled on his soldier persona knowing he had to remain detached. He could not afford emotion right now; too much was riding on him performing his job. Steel toned all business he replied "I'm good. Spike any details on the location, blue prints, etc.?"

Ed heard the tone of the response and glanced at Greg silently questioning if Greg agreed with his assessment not to sideline Sam.

Greg nodded agreement that Sam was good to go, not to sideline him, for now.

Ed said simply "Good to know Sam. Spike, details?"

Spike had waited for Ed to acknowledge Sam's response. The whole team was worried how Sam would handle this call. But he just said he was okay and they knew he wouldn't put the team at risk if he was not.

So he responded "Police have a copter over with video. Tapped into the feed. Shit, it is a mess. Looks like units have cordoned off the neighborhood as best as possible." The scene he was seeing unnerved him "So many bodies on the ground. It looks like a friggin war zone."

Greg interrupted "Spike just details we can use." He was worried about upsetting Sam with Spike's unguarded commentary.

"Right Boss, sorry. Looks like it would be best if we came in from the North and West sides. I count eight subjects moving in on two unit guys. Can't tell who they are from this angle just see the uniforms" Spike reported.

Sam wished he was not driving so he could see and assess the situation better. Next time Leah drives. Jules nearly always drove when they were partnered for just such a reason.

Spike continued "One block up turn right, three houses down should be the best place to stop and gear up."

Sam hoped so.

* * *

 ** _Safe House_**

The team arrived and geared up fast. Ed directed "Sam take Spike and Leah, Bravo team, take north. Jules we need intel, just who are these people. See if any witnesses can give us anything to go on. Wordy you are with me, west."

"Copy" sounded off from all.

Greg had been on the phone with the senior unit officer on scene for some time before they even arrived getting details and coordinating the scene. As they started to move Greg halted them and added "Go careful, take shields. Unconfirmed reports from uniforms but they may have armor piercing rounds. Active shooting you have authorization for lethal force. But we need information to locate Daphne and Ben so if we can we need them alive. It's a puzzle why they are still firing when they have already abducted them."

Russ was in the perch and cursing under his breath. He was nearly out of ammo; only had two more shots and eight targets. This was a fucking war zone. He had already taken out ten targets. He was concentrating on provided cover fire for his injured mates who were down and could not protect themselves, especially Angus and Daniel.

Dammit there were just too damned many hostiles, what the hell was he gonna do when he was out of ammo? Russ had counted about thirty initially as they had swarmed the area. But some had left when Daphne and Ben were taken.

His eye caught a flash of black and gray. Oh thank god, SRU was here. Russ took aim on another target approaching Angus and Daniel from behind. He was about to fire when the man dropped. Russ adjusted his scope and saw it was Sam that took him out from a distance. In short order SRU had managed to take out or contain the remaining seven targets.

Leah, Greg and Jules were now in charge of the five subjects still alive. Most of them were injured in some way. It seemed no one wanted to be taken alive, preferring death to capture.

With the help of several uniform officers they had them all cuffed and secured. Jules and Greg were questioning them to try and determine who they worked for and where Daphne and Ben had been taken. The rest of the team was busy securing the scene and assessing who was dead and who was alive and needed assistance. There were bodies everywhere.

Russ was the only uninjured JTF2 guy. He dropped from his perch and rushed to Hal, because he was closest, as soon as he saw the SRU team had the area of operation in control. He was trying to stem the flow of blood from Hal's leg while Hal was trying to do the same for his own arm.

Ed rushed up to them and called out "EMS south side of exterior, one injured." As he knelt down and took over applying pressure to Hal's arm he looked at Russ checking to make sure he was not injured.

Russ quickly responded with contained fury in his voice as he gave Ed a necessary report seeing as he was the Team Leader "No harm. I was in the perch when it all went down. Counted near thirty at outset. We were outnumbered near five to one. They swarmed in from all the god damned blind spots."

"This safe house sucks. How the hell do they call this location a safe house? Dammit they got Daphne and Ben. How the hell did they even find us? There was little we could do when all hell broke loose."

"They hit Angus and Daniel first. They need help. Someone has to get to them. They're in the back. Angus is in real bad shape. Blaze is in the house. I know he's hit but not how bad. But it's gotta be real bad if he didn't pursue them."

Finally taking a breath, Russ continued "Saw Winds get hit. Shoulder I think. But he managed to follow when they left with Daphy and Ben. About ten hostiles left with them too. Dammit Ed, it all went sideways so god damned fast."

Ed called out "Sam, find Blaze. Russ says he is in the house. Wordy and Spike find Angus and Daniel in the back. Winnie, we need more EMS, four unit men down, at least five subjects injured."

Winnie acknowledged him and set to work.

Ed then rapid fired questions at Russ "Which way did they leave? What did they leave in? How did Winds follow? Other details?"

Russ answered just as rapidly the tail-ends of adrenaline rushed through his body "East. Large white moving van, black sedan and red SUV. No markings on the van. Winds left on an acquired motorcycle. Could tell they were mostly speaking Farsi but too far to make out what they were saying. They tried real hard to kill us but they failed. Glad you arrived when you did, only had two bullets left."

He sagged after spilling all that information. A wearied and worried look crossing his face as he looked to his friend and mentor lying bloodied on the ground. He should have done more to protect the unit, Russ thought.

Hal saw Russ sag and he glanced around at all the dead bodies. It was a heavy burden that kid would carry. Russ had a difficult time after taking lives and today he had counted at least ten the kid had to take to save them.

He grated out slowly trying to hide his pain but not quite succeeding "You did good kid. Thanks for keeping us alive. We will be okay. You saved our asses many times over today."

Hal then winced in pain as pressure was increased on his leg to try and stop the bleeding. A paramedic raced up to them and Ed backed off to allow him to work.

Ed nodded to Hal. Then he patted Russ on the shoulder to get his attention. When Russ looked up to him Ed said "Stay with Hal until he leaves for the hospital, then find Parker. He needs your details. I need to check the rest of the scene."

Russ nodded and Ed trotted off to find the senior uniform officer to ensure the scene was fully contained.

Daniel was with Angus. He ignored his own arm, shoulder and head wounds and was applying pressure to Angus's more serious stomach wound. Within seconds of Ed's call out Spike and Wordy found them on the ground in the back just behind a short hedge that had provided them a small amount of cover.

Spike nudged Daniel away and took over applying pressure to the stomach wound. It looked bad, real bad. Angus was unconscious. With one hand he checked Angus's pulse; weak and thready, not good. Spike called out "Need EMS now in the back two injured one critical." Spike looked at Angus and thought you better make it buddy. Who else am I gonna talk bomb tech with.

Daniel sat on the ground next to Angus and Wordy was trying to stop the flow from his shoulder wound which was worse than the arm wound and the graze on his head. Daniel was dizzy from loss of blood and was wavering back and forth sitting there.

Wordy noticed and said "You need to lay down now before you add concussion to your injuries."

Daniel reluctantly complied with Wordy's help. Wordy was about to ask him a question when he saw Daniel's eyes roll back and close. The man had passed out.

Spike looked to Wordy and said "I wonder how he stayed with it for so long? He lost so much blood, his shirt is soaked."

Wordy replied "They had a hell of a fire fight on their hands that's for sure. Shit! None of them is even wearing a vest. Never have I seen anything like this."

On Ed's order, Sam had gone directly into the house to find Blaze. The war zone scene outside had thrown Sam deeply into soldier mode where all senses where heightened and all emotion was wiped away. He was focused on only necessary actions. He had to clear the house to ensure no hostiles posed a threat. After clearing the bedrooms and family room where he found three dead subjects he found Blaze on the floor in the kitchen.

Blaze was semi-conscious, but not really registering anything around him. He was in a large and growing pool of blood near two dead hostiles. Sam wasn't sure how much blood was Blaze's or the hostiles as the pools had combined. He checked to make sure the hostiles were indeed dead and kicked their weapons away.

Then he slung his MP5 over his back out of the way and knelt down to check on Blaze. As he dropped to his knee he called out in calm all business tone "EMS needed in the kitchen one down, urgent, significant blood loss." He checked Blaze's pulse first. Steady but weakening.

Sam pulled out pressure bandages and applied them to wounds in Blaze's hip and thigh. He only had two hands so he repositioned himself so that his knee could apply pressure to the leg wound and he could move one hand to apply pressure to the shoulder wound. He did a quick assessment. Blaze had lost lots of blood.

The hip and leg wounds likely incapacitated movement. The position of the entry in the leg looked like it hit the bone and it might be fractured. The hip was harder to tell what damage may have been done. The shoulder was high and looked through and though. Thankfully nothing looked life threatening, except the blood loss. Blaze should make it if EMS got here soon.

Sam then tried to rouse Blaze "Hey buddy you with me? You're gonna be okay. Medics on the way. Hang on buddy. Stay with me."

Blaze roused slightly at Blondie's voice.

Sam saw him blink trying to focus on his face.

Blaze weakly said "In through blind spots. Too many, over twenty. Armed to the teeth, out gunned." He stopped to breathe.

"It's okay Blaze. Russ gave a report. Just rest now" Sam instructed.

Blaze paid no heed either not hearing or years of training and ingrained behavior taking over and needing to report as he continued "Got Daphy, Ben. Angus and Daniel hit bad. Hal and Russ status unknown. Winds hit, don't know how bad. Managed to follow I think. Saw him on cycle after van. Tried to follow but hip, think broken."

He grimaced as Sam put more weight on the thigh wound that continued to bleed.

Sam saw the grimace and the effort talking was taking "Sorry I gotta stop it bleeding. Know it hurts. Save your strength. No report necessary right now, later Blaze."

But Blaze continued speaking "Winds has no coms, his phone on counter, he will com if he can."

Sam thought Blaze is damned stubborn as he continued to talk. So he listened quietly. Maybe Blaze had a piece of information that would help locate Daphy and Ben.

"Angus, Daniel watching Ben run off energy before debrief team arrived. Daphy needed him to sleep, didn't want him overhearing, repeats all he hears. Unsafe for him to hear debrief. Out back when hit, were speaking Farsi" Blaze got out slowly and with difficultly as the loss of blood made him more lethargic.

Blaze blinked several times and gathered a bit of strength before he said "Blondie, call it in, left pocket, distress code Garfield."

Sam removed his hand from the hip wound and retrieved Blaze's phone and put it in his pocket then went back to the applying pressure. The short release of pressure from the wound had allowed the blood to flow quickly again.

"Okay, I'm serious, stop talking now. Save your strength. I have your damned phone. I'll call it in. Just stop now man. I need you to make it. So please just stop talking." Emotion had finally crept into Sam as he pleaded with Blaze to save his strength, he was losing him. Blaze was bleeding out right in front of him and there was not a damned thing he could do about it.

Blaze's face was so pale and his voice barely audible as he said with anguish "Blondie, get them back. Please. All the family I have. Can't survive if I lose Daphy again. Oh god Ben, his screams, haunting me." Blaze looked directly at Sam and used the remainder of his strength to whisper "Ben screamed and screamed for me to save him. I tried, I tried so hard. I failed Ben just like I failed you and Matt. Blondie, please save Ben." Tears slipped from Blaze's eyes.

Sam could see Blaze's emotional pain was so deep, it mirrored his own. Blaze was getting so close to losing consciousness and giving up. Sam needed him to fight so he said firmly "Don't you dare give up. Fight dammit, fight to hang on. You did not fail. Hear me, you did not fail!"

His voice demanding but full of emotion Sam continued "You did all you could. Stay strong and fight. They need you. I promise I will do whatever I have to do to save Ben and Daphy. But you promise me you will hang on. You can count on me, my life for theirs any day. They are special to both of us. Promise me you will hang on."

Blaze barely nodded before his eyes closed and he succumbed to the blackness.

Sam was feeling panicked he could not lose Blaze, not like this, not right now. If he lost Blaze now he might fall apart and that would not help save Ben. Where the hell was the medic?

He was about to call out again for the medic when the paramedic rounded the corner. Sam looked up and tried to mask his feeling but it completely crumbled and fell away when he saw it was Jim. With cracked emotion in his voice he said "Jim, he just lost consciousness. He's lost so much blood; shoulder, hip and thigh wounds."

Jim took in the whole scene and immediately set to work. Blaze needed him but so did Sam. He saw the panic; he knew it would be close for Blaze because he had taught Sam how to assess. He moved quickly and called out for a gurney.

"Sam, keep pressure for me until my partner arrives" Jim requested firmly giving Sam something to focus on, a job to do.

Remaining in place applying pressure, Sam nodded while Jim worked to stabilize Blaze. He could hear some of the questioning and it sounded like Sarge finally got one of the subjects to start talking. He hoped it wouldn't be long before they had information they could act upon. The emotion getting a foothold had him thinking somewhat irrational that he needed to do something now, right now making him want to run off half-cocked. But to where he had no idea.

Jim could see Sam getting antsy and he had to help center him. He did not know the situation beyond the many injured and dead at this location but he did know that this was a safe house. Blaze, Winds and he had used it once nearly ten years ago.

So Jim asked "Who is Blaze protecting here?" He didn't really expect an answer knowing it was probably classified. He was just trying to draw Sam into conversation to redirect his thinking.

Sam hesitated whether he should tell him or not. Then he decided he could skirt protocol by using only her nickname. "Someone very special to Blaze. We found Daphy this morning. Someone took her from here. I just promised Blaze I would do everything I could to get her back if he promised to hang on."

Jim looked at him sharply with questioning and shock. "Daphy is alive, hot damn! Blaze had to be beside himself. She was … Crap … someone took her from here. My god!"

Sam nodded then added "Yeah and they took Ben too. I promised to get Ben back. I would gladly give my life to save Ben."

Jim heard the icy dead seriousness in Sam voice. Sometimes he sounded as scary as the General. "Who is Ben?" Jim asked starting the IV.

"That would be Matt's and Daphy's son, Matthew Benjamin Hunter Jr." Sam grinned slightly at Jim's shocked expression.

"No friggin way! I knew they were an item before she left. Shit!" then Jim laughed.

It was Sam's turn to be shocked "What's so funny?"

Jim had just finished taping off the IV and reached to set the drip wide open because Blaze needed lots of fluids now as he said "Well the night before Daphy left on assignment Matt came to me all flustered and beet red. You know how he got when he was embarrassed about something."

"Took a bit but he finally asked me if I had any protection. I asked why. He stuttered out that he wanted to have a special night with Daphy. I teased him a lot before I finally told him sorry I didn't have any. Christ I think he was too embarrassed after that to bother asking anyone else. Don't think he was a kiss and tell guy. I think the only reason had the courage to ask me was I was the unit medic."

Jim grinned at Sam "I guess they had the special night without protection."

Sam was always amazed at how quickly Jim could work and still hold a conversation. Jim had the IV all set, vitals taken and recorded and had just moved Sam's knee aside and was working on the thigh wound applying a tighter pressure pad that finally stopped the bleeding.

Blaze was nearly ready for transport. Sam shook his head at Jim realizing that he had just treated two patients at once. One physical and one emotional. That small bit of conversation had helped disperse his panic and allowed him to get his emotions clamped back down.

Sam was calm again as he said "Thanks Jim I really needed that. Oh you are right Matt never was a kiss and tell guy. He said he was gonna wait for the right woman. I'm glad he didn't ask anyone else that night. Ben's the spitting image of Matt except he has jet black hair. Just wait til you meet him."

The gurney arrived and Sam helped Jim and his partner get Blaze onto it. As they left Sam called out "Take care of Blaze, please. His family needs him."

"Got it. Be safe. Make sure I don't have to take care of you later." Jim called back.

As he rushed out with Blaze he had many thoughts. First was that it was a good thing that he was able to settle Sam down. Sam needed control if he is going to handle this. Then he thought it was good to hear that Daphy was alive and Matt had a boy. He couldn't wait to meet him.

Jim trusted Sam would get them back. Then Jim shuddered as he registered all the sheet covered bodies on the ground as they made their way to the ambulance. Too damned much like over there.

Sam was alone in the kitchen and he muted his headset. He pulled out Blaze's encrypted phone and dialed from memory. When it was answered he said "Master Corporal Samuel W. Braddock B23-509-653. Garfield."

 _["Roger. Standby."]_

 _["Verified. Status?"]_

"Unit four of six down, one pursuit of targets, injured, no com. Package two of two taken. Hostiles unknown. SRU Team One on scene, clearance code AA-T1-SXP."

 _["Standby, five."]_

Sam paced while he waited for five minutes as the operator indicated. He wanted to be able to take action now. He needed to save Ben now. But there was absolutely nothing he could do at the moment. The best way to help Ben and Daphy was to stay detached and treat it like a normal call.

Team One was the absolute best at tracking abductions. Let the Boss, Jules and Spike work their magic and get info to locate Ben and Daphy. Then Ed and he could define a plan to extract them and the whole team would execute the plan. Ben would be safe and sound soon with Team One on it. He breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Then it hit him hard. Aw crap he shouldn't have called in. Should he hang up now? No, that wouldn't change the outcome now because the distress code was already given.

Shit, shit, shit! God fucking dammit, he hadn't thought fully through the consequences of doing as Blaze asked. He chided himself that he could be so fucking stupid sometimes. Sam was pulled from his mental cussing fit as Colonel Sutton came on the line.

 _["Braddock, Colonel Sutton. Details."]_

Sam launched into the details "Sir, Blaze, Daniel, Angus, Hal all alive but out of commission, all enroute to St. Simons. Russ no harm. Winds unknown, last seen in pursuit, no comlink, I have his phone and Blaze's. Both packages taken. Sir it's a blood bath here approximately twenty dead. So far media kept at bay but damage control is needed. SRU Team One on scene and have five subjects in custody. Sergeant Parker interviewing. Instructions Sir?"

Sam knew protocol. He damn well knew he was not going to like Sutton's instructions. But a very small part of him hoped with the earlier clearance for Team One and the fact they were already on scene it would make a difference.

 _["Stand down. This is a JTF2 matter and I will be sending another unit to handle the retrieval" Sutton told him.]_

Shit, shit, shit, dammit, exactly as he expected. But he tried anyway "Sir, I respectfully request that SRU Team One be allowed to handle this. SRU is fully equipped to handle this situation. We are on scene and we were cleared to assist with obtaining the packages this morning. We are well trained to deal with abductions. Clearance should still be active."

 _["Braddock, you will stand down now. Given that the package identity is confirmed it is now a matter of national security and JTF2 has sole jurisdiction" Sutton stated even though he hated to do so.]_

One last ditch effort, Sam said "Sir, I need to speak to the General."

 _[Sutton barely stopped himself from sighing. He said "You know nothing changes. The General has to follow protocol. This is a JTF2 matter."]_

"Yes Sir, I understand completely. Just transfer me to the General please" Sam requested respectfully.

 _["Standby" Sutton responded. Then he placed a call to William. This was a no win situation and he hated to be the one to connect Sam with William.]_

Sam paced. He did not, emphatically did not, want to do this but he had no choice. He paced as he waited. Sweat dripping from the heat and from the action he was about to take.

As he waited he listened a bit to Jules, she was getting nowhere. They refused to speak to a mere woman. That made him laugh. Jules was no mere woman. Jules was the best. Just hearing her voice soothed him. He hoped she would understand and forgive him for what he had to do. He literally snapped to attention as the General's voice came on the line.

 _["Samuel, Colonel Sutton briefed me. You know protocol. This is a JTF2 matter and therefore out of SRU jurisdiction. Son I know it is difficult but you and your team must stand down now. It is out of your hands. A JTF2 unit will be there in about an hour to begin the search retrieval process."]_

Sam took a deep breath and said steadily "Sir. SWB-B23-509-653-hell-just-froze-over."

 _[The General was stunned speechless for a few moments but recovered quickly "Samuel you are doing this voluntarily?"]_

"Yes Sir, but only on two conditions. You must allow me to lead the unit in charge of rescuing Daphne and Ben. And you must allow me the bandwidth to use whatever resources I deem necessary for the mission" Sam clearly and firmly stated.

 _["And after this is over? You know I have limited pull if you do this, protocol. Samuel are you sure?" William asked again.]_

Sam squeezed his eyes shut, inhaled deeply then opened them as he exhaled slowly to calm himself and ensure his voice was completely steady before he replied. "Sir, I fully understand the consequences. You know my feelings on that matter. But if you will agree to my conditions, I will abide by whatever decision is made when this is over."

 _[General Braddock had very mixed feelings as he stated "I agree to your conditions. Voluntary reactivation to full active duty accepted. Master Corporal Braddock you are in charge of the mission. Standby while I inform Colonel Sutton. Then we can discuss your needs for the mission. I assume it will include clearance for Team One."]_

Switching back to military lingo Sam answered "Roger."

Sam paced to the family room while he was waiting. His mind was racing with strategies but was halted instantly when he saw a piece of paper on the floor. He bent down and retrieved it.

It was a child's attempt at drawing a duck. A single tear escaped and slipped from his eye before he clamped his emotions again and hastily wiped it away.

He would do anything to save Ben. Even if it meant giving up his life in exchange.

Sam folded the drawing and put it in his left vest pocket close to his heart. He whispered to the empty air around him "Ben hang on little buddy, Unca Sam is coming to save you."


	7. Mixed Feelings & Holding It Together

**Mixed Feelings & Holding It Together**

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Office - Kandahar_**

General Braddock was pacing in his office as he waited to be connected with Colonel Sutton. He was getting no sleep tonight but that was not unusual in the past three months due to current circumstances. Coffee was sleep's substitute most nights. But tonight was worse than the past three months combined. His son had just done something he vowed never to do. He had such mixed feelings on what Samuel just did.

On one hand he was ecstatic. He had wanted Samuel to return to the Army for years, family tradition and all. He could do so much good for the world applying his skills here. He could make a real difference. He could rise in ranks quickly; maybe someday make General like him.

But on the other hand, Samuel was doing so well with Team One and was making a good life for himself. He was truly and finally happy doing something that he valued and gave him purpose. He had wanted Samuel back but only if it was something he wanted. Which it was evident from his voice was not the case tonight. Although it was officially a voluntary reactivation he knew Samuel made the decision under duress.

His mind slipped back to the day Samuel signed his early discharge paperwork. It was in this very office. William cringed when he remembered which staff member handled the paperwork that day, Corporal Merrill. He stopped pacing and looked at the chair Samuel had been sitting in that afternoon.

 _When Samuel was told to create his voluntary reactivation code he made it abundantly clear that he would never voluntarily sign on again. Although he and Samuel would rage at each other in private on occasion, Samuel always controlled his emotions if they were in an official capacity. Samuel had always had respect for the position if not the man at that point in their relationship and comported himself appropriately._

 _But that day was the first and only time Samuel had a total loss of control. Samuel had started to lose control when he read the part about the involuntary special assignments. William heard the anger creep in his voice at the number of years he could be called back but he had remained respectful. Then Merrill told him to create his own personal voluntary reactivation code._

 _That's when Samuel snapped. He had stood knocking the chair over and shocked Merrill who only stood by and watched as Samuel rounded his desk. William recalled that Samuel had walk within inches of him and rage loudly and harshly directly in his face._

 _Samuel had told him emphatically in very colorful language that he would only rejoin if hell froze over, which Samuel further articulated in a fire laden voice would never fucking happen. After quickly writing out his code Samuel had stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him and completely shocking his staff in the exterior office. They could not fathom that someone had enough nerve to rage and shout at the General._

 _Damn, William could still see their stunned faces as he tore open the door in a fury himself. He was ready to bellow at Samuel to return to his office. His staff's faces became baffled and astounded when instead of yelling angrily he had burst out in long, loud, deep, gut splitting laughter after he had glanced at the code Samuel had written: SWB-B23-509-653-hell-just-froze-over._

William was not laughing tonight though. Samuel said he fully understood the consequences of his actions but he could not. Samuel did not and William could not divulge any information to him since he was not active at this time.

General Braddock had only agreed to this reactivation for one reason only; he loved his son too much not to agree.

There was a click as Sutton was finally patched in so he went straight to business "Colonel Sutton, Master Corporal Braddock will be assuming command of the mission. We need clearance for the following civilians to assist Gregory Parker, Edward Tucker Lane, Julianna Callaghan, Michelangelo Scarlatti, Kevin James Wordsworth and Leah Kerns. Additionally, Corporal Russell Kostopoulos is to be temporarily transferred from Captain Blain's command to Braddock's."

 _["Sir, you're joking right?" Sutton asked totally dumbfounded.]_

"No Tom, I am not joking. Samuel voluntarily reactivated to full active duty effective immediately" the General answered with the barest hint of emotion in his voice.

 _[Hearing his first name and the slight off tone, Tom knew he could drop formality and speak to his friend, not just the General "Christ Will, he vowed never to do that. Sam said hell would have to freeze over. He does understand the consequences and that you have little say, Right?"]_

"Yes he does. Well mostly he does, he is not privy to our current situation Tom. I wish I could have re-upped him as a temporary special assignment but you know my hands are tied there. Given the security level it is not a situation that allowed for that. Only complete activation restored his full security level which is needed in this situation" William responded as he raked his hand through his hair.

 _[Tom paced his office as he replied "Will, they're not going to let him go easily. With all the units down in the last three months we are so short-handed. That terrorist cell has been too active lately. They keep hitting our units hard, so many injured and dead. Whoever is in charge of that cell is a cold-blooded killer. And now with Blain's elite unit nearly wiped out and down for recovery for god knows how long, they are going to keep Sam for the remainder of his contract, if not extend it."]_

Frustration laced the General's voice as he nearly growled out to his longtime friend "You don't think I know that? But what else could I do? If I didn't accept, he would have gone rogue. We both know full well he has the means and connections to do that. This is the only way I keep him safe. I couldn't bear to see him pay the consequences for going after this illegally. When he was done he would turn himself in and give a full accounting of his actions and take responsibility."

Deep concern mixed with the frustration as the General continued "Dammit Tom, he would never see another day outside a prison and that would surely kill him. I know it would kill me to see Samuel locked away for murder. Even if it was justified lethal action the courts wouldn't see it that way if he was working this without authorization. This is the only protection I can offer him. Certain actions can be sanctioned under mission and national security protocols."

 _[Sutton was troubled by the uncommon display of emotion from his friend. But he knew Sam too, the General's conclusions were sound. "Okay Will, I understand. What is it you need me to do? What resources are needed beyond the security clearance you requested?"]_

"Let me get Samuel patched in. He knows what he needs." The General signaled his aide through his office window to connect the three.

"Samuel, Colonel Sutton is on the line. What are your needs?" General Braddock asked quickly.

The three of them launched into a discussion of what Sam needed and wanted. There was some wrangling due to certain security level requirements. In the end Sam did not get everything he requested. Although the team would be granted the ability to participate there were things he would not be able to share with them. He understood the need for security but it still galled him because he knew and trusted all of his team.

Just before they hung up Sutton indicated he was on it, would rush the clearances and would contact Sam directly when things were ready. Sam informed them that he and Team One would proceed as they normally would with their current resources until security clearances were complete and they were given access to things he had requested. He knew it would slow them down but it was the best he could do right now.

As the General hung up he blew out a breath. His son was so skilled it still boggled his mind sometimes. It pained him that he was so protective of others that he would put his own life in jeopardy. But he understood, he truly understood.

This was Matt's son. Saving Ben might be the only way Samuel would ever assuage his guilt over Matt's death.

As he rubbed his tired eyes he thought Samuel you stay strong, stay safe, dammit son you better stay alive, no unacceptable risks. William dropped heavily in his chair and laid his head on his arms on his desk and drifted into a light sleep as exhaustion finally overtook him.

* * *

 ** _Safe House_**

Sam hung up the phone and wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand and massaged the tension out of his neck with the other. He wished the access to the databases and satellite feeds could be activated now and wondered just how long it would take to get the necessary clearance. With that Spike could work fast. But for now they only had non-military methods. Spike was still amazing with those but they had so little to go on at the moment.

Emotion tried to well up from its current prison as Sam thought Blaze's whole unit sans Russ was hit. How the hell did this happen? Stomping it back down in favor of logical thinking he stared at the wall contemplating and running through various scenarios.

But his right hand had a mind of its own and clenched into a fist as his focus narrowed into the wall. He pulled back ready to strike out. At the last second before slamming his fist into the brick wall he turned on his heel away from the wall. A broken hand would hamper what he needed to do now. He had to hold it together.

Staring at Blaze's pool of blood in the kitchen and the tracks of it from Jim's shoes out the front door his mind came to the only logical conclusion. They had to have been followed from the farmhouse. Someone had been watching Daphne.

How the hell did six JTF2 unit men and he not sense the danger? His mind screamed 'distraction'. They had all been distracted by the discovery of Ben and the rant between the Blain siblings. This did not bode well. If someone was watching Daphne they already suspected her. He strode from the house.

Sam stopped just outside the front door to allow his eyes to adjust to the glare of the hot, bright sun overhead. The scene was horrible. Sam looked around and saw the true state of the area for the first time really. He had been so focused on his job and then finding Blaze he hadn't taken in the entirety of the scene. Shit it really was a war zone. There were at least twenty covered bodies.

Whoever it was that took Daphy and Ben cared little for human life. Again this did not bode well. The only saving grace was that they wanted them alive, otherwise they would still be here; injured or dead. But with someone like that he knew he needed to find them fast or they would ….

Sam refused to complete that thought. He fixed in his mind, they are alive and we will find them. Time to get to work.

He shook his head a few times to move the war imagery to the background as he unmuted his headset. Sam scanned looking for his team members. He had to talk to Sarge and Ed, tell them what he had just done.

But his eyes landed on Leah first. SIU was closing in on her as she guarded the subjects. Sam realized this was Leah's first lethal with the team and she looked a little lost.

Her shot had saved Daniel's life. He had only been grazed on the side of the head instead of the bullet landing between the eyes because she had reacted quick enough. He strode quickly to her before the SIU agent got to her. He pulled her a little away from the subjects "Leah, you okay?"

Leah looked at Sam a little dazed "Yeah I'm fine."

Sam instantly gave her a hard assessing look.

She saw the look and quickly backtracked "No I mean I'm okay. Not fine, okay." She sighed and smiled a bit as a small chuckle escaped "I laughed so hard when Spike explained to me what fine means to this team. Gonna be a hard habit to break."

Sam smiled at her. He remembered how hard it was to integrate with the team when he was the rookie. They both had it tough joining Team One. He because of the unusual way he ended up on the team, they did not chose him, he was forced on them. They didn't exactly like that.

And Leah, although chosen, she was a replacement for someone they all cherished and missed deeply. It would be hard for her too. He hoped after this mission was over the decision would allow him to return quickly to the team so he could be here to help her ease into the team.

He remembered his first lethal with the team and said "Has Ed had a chance to go over the SIU procedure with you?"

Leah shook her head and said "No said we would go over it later this week. He wasn't expecting to put me in the position for lethal until next week. But this ..." she waved her arm at the scene. "This was unexpected."

Ed's head had snapped up and whipped around to find Leah and Sam when he heard the conversation. Silently he chided himself for failing to prepare a rookie again for the SIU process. He was still pissed off at what had happened to Sam because he failed to explain the process and his rights to him.

He was about to say something when he heard Sam say "Okay, three important points to remember. One they will bag and tag your clothes, everything except the bare minimum."

Sam read surprise on her face. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah a bit embarrassing; since this is your first time they will have a pair of sweats and t-shirt for you. In the future you can store a set of your own clothes at SIU in case needed. Secondly, you have the right to make a phone call to family. Lastly, you have the right to a lawyer."

"You do not have to say a word until he or she arrives. I suggest you follow that rule, SIU can be tough on us. If you don't already know one or don't want whoever they assign I have the name of a good lawyer. Dale Gibbson is the best. He will always have your back and be in your corner. I guess that is all for now. Any questions on the process?"

Leah looked at him and said "No, I guess not."

Sam noticed that the dazed look had not completely cleared. "Leah, is this the first time you have had to take a life?"

Leah nodded her head yes and said a bit shaky "As a firefighter people died when I couldn't get to them but I was never the one that caused it outright. Yeah it's the first time I've deliberately killed someone."

Sam put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as a few tears threatened to spill from her eyes. The rest of the team all stopped their actions and looked over at the two. They all knew what she was going through, they had all dealt with the first time. It never got easier but that first time could be gut wrenching. It would be hard for her to hold it together over the next few days.

"Leah, Ed and I will be your primary contacts for the next seventy-two hours. You can call us anytime night or day to talk. We will always answer. Jules will be there for you too if you need to talk to a woman" Sam told Leah.

Leah nodded pulling herself together and swiped at the unshed tears clearing her eyes "Thanks Sam."

Sam grinned and said "Anytime. Team One is always there for each other."

They all silently acknowledge the truth of Sam's words as they got back to work.

Leah saw the SIU agent closing in and said "So do I go with them now?"

As he was walking toward them Ed realized that he was proud of the way Sam handled that. Sam was going to make a damned good TL someday maybe even a Sergeant given some time. He had all the right skills and they were slowly smoothing all the hard Army edges off of him.

Sam was also making good progress in negotiations but it still was not his strong suit. Hell it wasn't his either. Ed could do it but like Sam preferred the tactical side. Both were necessary for a team to function well.

Ed arrived just as the SIU agent told Leah and Sam they had to come with him. He had overheard the agent's name as he had introduced himself to them so Ed interrupted and said "Agent Mankle, we are still engaged in a hot call. Precedence states hot calls and team safety in the field trump SIU interviews. So Kerns, Braddock and Wordsworth will stay with the team for now. We will make them available to SIU when we are finished."

Mankle was not pleased "And who are you?"

Ed raised his eyebrow, pulled himself to his full height and crossed his arms across his chest "I am Ed Lane, Team Leader of Team One. If you need I can pull Sergeant Parker over to verify what I said but he is engaged in critical interviews at this time. Probably won't be too happy with you if I do that."

Agent Mankle looked at the intimidating man and said "But this is no longer within SRU jurisdiction. I was just informed by my superior that it is now in the hands of JTF2. It is under their jurisdiction. So your team is off call. It is JTF2's responsibility to clean up this mess. As it should be, they are accountable for all but three of the dead bodies lying around. They sure like to kill don't they?"

Ed saw the rage light in Sam's eyes and his fists clench. He grabbed Sam's sleeve and swiftly hauled him away before he did something he regretted. As he was forcefully dragging him away Ed said "Sam calm, he's an idiot, he doesn't realize the situation and is spewing crap. Calm down now that's an order."

They were about fifty feet from where they started when Ed stopped. Sam looked at him as his fists unclenched and the fire banked in his eyes "Thanks Ed." Ed nodded to him but Sam continued "But sorry Ed, as far as orders go, I think I'm the one that will be giving them now."

Ed looked at him confused "Sam, what do you mean by that?"

Sam shifted slightly from foot to foot. He was not looking forward to the rage that would surely come. He had wanted to tell Sarge and Ed together. Sarge would keep Ed in line. But here he was and he needed to set the chain of command and ownership of the scene straight for Ed. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say something when a hand landed on his shoulder.

Greg had heard and seen what was transpiring and had hurried over at Sam's last statement. He came up behind Sam and placed a hand on his shoulder and said "Sam, Ed, play nice."

He looked between both men. Christ they were forged from the same steel. Shape and form different but the core was very much the same. He was lucky to have two such men on his team.

Greg would be sad when it was time to let Sam go and lead his own team. He was near hitting that glass ceiling right now. That's why he and Ed had decided to allow Sam to take on TL duties on occasion.

They worried it might not be enough and he would leave outright someday. Sam's comment worried him now because Holleran had just informed him the same thing as the agent had said. This was now out of their jurisdiction.

Calmly Greg said "Sam you look like you need to tell us something."

Sam relaxed when he realized it was Greg. He tried for calm and steady and at least managed the calm part as he said "Yes I do. The agent is right. The scene is in JTF2 hands now." He hesitated before he added "I am in charge of the unit that will be handling it from here forward."

Ed's gut twisted and clenched. He responded mostly calm but concern edging into his voice "You mean they temporarily activated you for a special assignment?"

Sam replied quickly wanting to get it over with "Not exactly."

Ed yelled "What the hell do you mean not exactly? How can you be in charge if they didn't …" His words trailed off as realization hit him "GOD DAMMIT SAM, WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO IT?"

Greg was at a loss, he saw from Sam's face whatever Ed said the two were on the same wave length. He shook Sam's shoulder gently until he turned away from Ed and looked to him and asked calmly "Sam, what did you do?"

He saw a look of sadness cross Sam's face before a soldier mask slipped firmly in place. Greg drew a sharp breath in as Sam said "What I had to do to save Ben."

Greg had to give Ed credit after the initial rage he was holding himself together and remained quiet to hear Sam's response but the fury was flowing off him in waves. Greg said in the same calm voice "And what would that be Sam?"

Sam looked directly at Ed when he replied "I gave up my life for Ben's. Team One is Ben's only hope. Team One will treat this as a rescue call not a retrieval mission. Big difference." He switched to looking at Sarge "The only way Team One could be involved was to voluntarily reactivate to Full Active Duty."

Jules', Wordy's and Spike's sharp gasps and shouts of "No" could be heard by not only the team via the headsets but everyone on scene. Likely even the dead could hear Spike's angry yell. Many startled faces looked at them.

Leah stared stunned silent, she didn't know the details but she could grasp the severity of what he had just done by the team's reaction to the news.

Greg was speechless by Sam's words. His mouth opened and closed several times trying to get something to come out. Ed was the first to speak. How Ed had contained his rage and spoke so coolly Greg would never know.

Ed was reeling inside. He wanted to both beat the crap out of Sam and congratulate him for the decision he had just made. It was a war he pushed way down and sealed tight for now. He understood the reason Sam had made the choice. Rescue meant getting someone back alive. Retrieval meant getting a body back, not necessary and usually not likely alive. Sam had to save Ben. Ed knew that Sam would die inside, and quite possibly literately too, if he didn't get that kid back alive. Sam needed the team's help now.

So Ed said evenly and all business "Samo what is your plan? How are you going to proceed to get Ben and Daphne back? How can the team help?"

Sam looked to Ed slightly stunned but extremely grateful "For now we need to proceed as we would any normal abduction call. I'm waiting for clearance for you all. Additional resources will be able when they are completed."

He didn't voice it but his tone was clearly understood by all. Sam was counting on them. Sam needed them to do what they did best so they could save Ben and Daphne.

Ed said "Copy that." Then he placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, squeezed and said with a small smirk "So what do I call you now? Boss?"

Sam smiled and said "Nah, just Sam." He looked to Greg and said "Sarge is always the Boss. So Boss do we have anything yet?"

Greg shook his head no "They are very tight lipped. A few are speaking in a language we don't understand; something Middle Eastern. They will not speak to Jules at all. Just stare at her with disdain like she is beneath them. Sticks in my craw men can be so stupid."

Sam laughed "Yeah well, if they only knew our Jules. Maybe we should let her at one of ..."

That was as far as he got. Sam, Ed and Greg ran flat out towards the group of subjects. One had worked his hands free and was making a run for it with Jules and Leah hot on his tail. He didn't get far.

Leah dove at the man and grabbed his feet and knocked him down. Jules was on him and wrestling to subdue him. He threw several punches and none hit their mark. Jules returned with solid hits. Leah and Jules had the man pinned to his stomach and cuffed by the time the guys reached them.

The subject was spewing what sounded to Jules to be a string of curses as she knelt on his back with her full weight to hold him in place.

Ed chortled as he said "Nice tackle Leah. Jules I see your right hook is in great form today."

Sam and Ed hauled the man up. The man was still spewing words. Sam listened carefully. He laughed. Damn his Farsi was way too rusty to put together exactly what the man was saying but he had a good grasp of curse words.

Greg saw Sam's attentiveness to the man and then the laughter as if he understood. Did he? Sam just might, especially given where he was stationed. Maybe this would give them an edge.

He stopped walking and said "Sam, I need to talk to you privately."

Sam stopped and Leah took over holding the man's arm as they continued back to the holding area.

"What ya need Boss?" Sam asked.

"Do you know what language he was speaking?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, Farsi. I'm way out of practice, really rusty, but I understood the curse words. It was mostly what he was saying. It wasn't my primary assigned language mine were Pashto and Uzbek." Dawning hit Sam and he smile broadly. "I get it; they might give us details in their language without realizing it. Wish I wasn't so rusty with it. Maybe we could get a translator here."

Then he saw Russ heading towards him all business. He must have been told Sam thought. "Hang on Boss. Hey Russ, over here."

Russ picked up speed and trotted to Sam "Sir?"

Sam shook his head "First drop the Sir. Sam or Blondie whatever you're more comfortable with will do." Russ nodded. "Second, do you speak Farsi?"

Russ looked to Sam, his initial questions about what the hell was going on and why was he reporting to him, quickly put aside he answered "Yeah, Farsi is my primary, got a little Turkmen and Uzbek also. Been meaning to learn Pashto too, just haven't had time."

Sam smiled and patted his back "Great, just the man we need. Let's get you a headset. We need you to stand near the subjects and listen in. They are speaking among themselves in Farsi. We might get a lead. If you hear anything useful let us know covertly. I have Blaze's phone. I will be giving Winds' to Spike. Text both of them with anything that might be useful; names, locations, dates, etc. You know the drill."

Russ nodded and said "Willco" as they started toward the command truck to get a head set. When Greg veered off to go back to the subjects Russ stopped Sam and said with a barely perceptible quiver in his voice "Blondie, how was Blaze? Hal and Daniel I'm pretty sure are going to be okay. Angus is real bad from what I could see in the perch. Winds took one in the shoulder I think, but probably not bad. But I didn't see Blaze. It has to be bad for him not to go after Ben and Daphy."

Sam looked to the man who was near his age but still seemed so young. Although Russ, Daniel, Hal and Angus had all joined with Winds and Blaze at the same time Russ was considered the kid, the rookie of the unit because he was the youngest with least field experience.

He could see Russ was hurting and trying very hard to hold it together. Russ had watched as his whole unit was hit. "Russ you know Blaze; hard as a rock and stubborn as a mule. I won't lie to you, it is bad. He lost a lot of blood. But the injuries themselves shouldn't do him in. Have faith he will keep fighting. That they all fight. You did well. Blaze would be proud of your actions today. Thank you for protecting all of them."

Sam patted him on the back then pulled him in for a quick one armed hug.

Russ smiled wanly at him. He could see why Blaze and Winds admired him. Then he just had to know and he asked "So what's up with this? Is this just a temporary assignment for you?"

Sam grimaced slightly and said "At this point I'm not really sure what happens after. Let's just focus on what we have to do right now. And for now we need intel; I need your ears. My Farsi is too rusty to be of much use other than لعنتی, دمار از روزگارمان درآورد and گه."

Russ smiled and snorted out loud "So basically you remember damn, fuck and shit."

Sam grinned and nodded as they continued to the truck; it was good that Russ smiled. Now he had a job to focus on that would take his mind off worrying about his unit. A job that might just give them a clue where to start looking.

* * *

 ** _White Moving Van Enroute to Destination – Inside Back_**

Blinking her eyes Daphne was starting to come around. Her head hurt badly and it pounded and throbbed with every movement. Things were hazy but she did realize she was laying on something hard, wood maybe, and she was definitely moving. The rocking of the vehicle as it made a turn was a dead giveaway. Where was she? What was the last thing she remembered?

She bolted up to a sitting position and waves of dizziness and nausea assaulted her. She needed to gulp in breaths to stem the feelings. But there was something crammed in her mouth and duct tape wrapped fully around her mouth and head. She did her best by dropping her head and breathing through her nose.

As she struggled to get her bearings only one thought raced through her mind Ben? Where was Ben? His screams for Blaze to save him was the last thing she remembered. As her vision cleared she saw six men glaring at her. Hearing was just starting to recover, there was still a slight ringing. She wanted to yell for Ben but couldn't.

Her hands and feet were bound with duct tape. At least her hands were taped together in front and not behind her, better for movement. Daphne frantically searched the darkened space. Her eyes finally landed on a small bundle in the far back corner. Her heart shattered into a million tiny shards. Her baby. Her little sweet Ben was curled up as tight as he could get in the corner.

The bastards had bound his hands and feet too. Oh god my little boy. He had his eyes tightly closed. Daphne could see the scrunched forehead. He was awake but afraid to look.

She had to do something to let him know she was awake and alright. She could feel the blood dripping down the side of her face. That probably scared him so much. She lifted her legs and pounded her feet on the floor of the vehicle making the only sounds she could at the moment. She kept her eyes on Ben.

Ben slowly opened his eyes when he heard the banging. He saw his mommy. She was looking right at him. He whimpered out "Mommy I'm ascared."

Oh god she wanted to hold him, tell him it was all going to be okay. She tried to communicate that with her eyes alone. He tried to scoot to her and was roughly pushed back to his corner.

"Mommy, mommy, I want my mommy" Ben wailed loudly as crocodile sized tears streamed from his eyes.

The men just laughed. Tears were running unstrained down Daphy's face. Oh god how could she have ever been so irresponsible, so reckless. She should have left when she found out she was pregnant.

She tried to scoot to him. She had to comfort him. Blackness engulfed her as the large fist connected with her jaw. She did not hear Ben screaming at the top of his lungs.

Nor did she see when two men forcefully held his trashing little body down as a third taped his mouth shut then brutishly tossed him whimpering back into the corner. If she had, every single one of the men would have known by her look that they were dead men; that no matter how long it took she would kill them all.

* * *

 ** _Safe House_**

Sam had outfitted Russ with a headset he had retrieved from inside the truck a little over thirty minutes ago. Everyone was on task working different angles for information. Greg was questioning one subject at a time with Leah acting as his protection and as guard of the subject given his penchant to run.

Russ along with four uniform officers were acting as guards on the other four. EMS had treated their wounds, none required transport to hospitals. Russ had been listening to their chatter ever since. So far nothing of use had been said.

Jules had moved off to question all the bystanders that had attended the picnic several houses down. So far she had only gotten details they already knew. She had tons of people to interview and was steadily making it through them. She was a bit frustrated by the lack of usable information.

Most were too drunk to even realize that a firestorm had taken place a few houses down. She finally called over two uniformed officers when she had to keep fending off drunken advances from several frat boys. The idiots were impeding her process and Sam needed her to move quickly and gather information now.

When this was all over she would have to talk to Sam. He made a hard choice today, one she knew he did not want to make. She had overheard several heated arguments between Sam and his dad on the subject of him reactivating. Whatever Daphne knew had to be important for JTF2 to take over on home soil.

Jules knew Sam did the only thing he could do to help Ben. Her heart hurt for Sam and what she really wanted to do was hold him and tell him it would be okay. But she had to hold it together so she walked up to the young mother holding a baby and started to question her.

Spike was busy in the command truck trying to locate any of the three vehicles via traffic cams but coming up empty. Sam had given him Winds' phone to watch for any info from Russ but there had been none so far. He was also reviewing the video footage from the safe house cameras looking for anything that might help identify the subjects or vehicles.

He shook his head as he thought how the hell could there be so many blind spots? This tech was so outdated, ten years if not more. No way in hell he would call it a safe house.

The images of Angus and Daniel getting hit followed by Daphne being struck and knocked out cold just displayed on the monitor. That was hard to watch. But it was nothing compared to the next scene that came up.

As Spike watched he was glad of small favors, it did not have sound. Because Spike was sure his dreams would be haunted by the sound of a little boy screaming in terror.

Spike could barely stomach watching the video of little Ben being snatched and the terror in his eyes as he watched Angus grab his bleeding stomach and fall to the ground. The image of Ben's little face with his mouth wide open could only be him screaming in terror as his little arms stretched out in front of him reaching for his mom while a man yanked him from her.

He had to stop the video and turn away. Spike was falling apart watching that and needed to gather himself together. He usually had a cast iron stomach but he felt like he needed to vomit.

Sam, Ed and Wordy walked to the command truck drenched in sweat from efforts over the past half hour. They were trying to clean their bloody hands on small towels. Wordy opened another bottle of water and took a long drink then poured some over Ed's, Sam's and his hands and they wiped them on the towels again. Wordy stared at his hands, he really needed to get all this off his hands, the sight of it sickened him.

He glanced at Sam. He looked stoic. Wordy wondered just how many times Sam had to do that during his tours. He shuddered a bit at the thought and said "That is a job I just can never quite stomach. I cannot believe that not a single one of them were carrying any sort of identification."

The three had checked all the dead men looking for anything that would give them a clue as to who they were dealing with. Rolling them over and checking every pocket. Checking for tattoos or other marking that might be useful for Spike to search on. Nothing, absolutely nothing found.

Ed replied "Yeah, don't think anyone could ever get used to that. Let's give these to Spike to start running through photo recognition programs."

He opened the door to the command truck intending to give Spike his PDA to upload all the photos of the dead men. Ed, Sam and Wordy heard retching. Ed quickly entered and found Spike on his knees over the waste can in the command truck.

Being first in Ed saw the image the video was stopped on. He tried to stop Sam from entering but was too late. Sam saw the frozen image of Ben. His heart stopped, literally stopped beating, he could not breathe.

Wordy was right behind Sam and was last to see the image. Instantly it brought to mind the image of Sam as a nine year old boy. In the next instant Wordy was holding up Sam who had staggered backwards and started to collapse onto him.

Ed moved to help and they guided Sam to one of the chairs. All color had washed from his face as his eyes locked on the image. Ed quickly flicked off the screen.

Wordy pushed Sam's head down between his knees and urgently said "Breathe Sam, just breathe. Come on take a breath in." He finally heard a ragged intake of breath by Sam and his own breathing finally eased slightly too.

Ed had gone to Spike and knelt down as best as possible in the cramped space. He handed him a water bottle when the retching stopped. "Here, rinse your mouth buddy." Then Ed pulled the chair around and when Spike was done rinsing his mouth Ed helped him to the chair.

Spike glanced at the monitor and saw it was blank now. Then he registered Sam's position. Spike looked up to Ed "He saw?"

Ed nodded yes.

Spike closed his eyes but quickly reopened them because the image was burned into his mind. Ever since they had found out Sam had voluntarily reactivated, a part of Spike had been pissed at Sam for going back to the Army, for choosing to leave him and the team. But his own reaction to the video and seeing Sam's reaction wiped all anger at Sam's decision completely away.

Sliding from the chair Spike knelt in front of Sam "Buddy, were going to get him back. Ben is going to be okay."

Sam looked up at Spike's words. He could see the horror he felt inside clearly reflected in Spike's wide open eyes. Sam nodded slowly. Sam found his voice "Let me know if you get any hits on the photos."

Spike nodded.

Sam felt the sudden need to be away from where he had seen the image so he stood and quickly exited the truck, pushing roughly passed Wordy. Ed gave the PDA to Spike and followed.

Wordy sat heavily in the chair Sam had just vacated. That image was heart breaking. He rubbed the towel trying to clean the remaining blood off his hand. He stopped and stared at them. He feared that given half a chance he might not go home with clean hands today. A part of him wanted to kill every single one of the men that terrorized that child.

He looked up to Spike who was already uploading the photos "Spike you okay buddy?"

Spike looked at Wordy. There was a hard glint in Wordy's eyes he'd never seen before. It scared him a bit. Spike cleared his throat. "I'm just as okay as we all are which is just _fine_. But we got work to do. Sam and Ben are counting on us."

Ed had followed Sam out of the truck and saw he had stopped under a tree facing it with his fist clenched. Crap. He walked quickly but trying not to draw attention. When he reached Sam he cleared his throat to let Sam know he was there.

He knew that in soldier mode Sam could be dangerous if surprised. Ed gently turned Sam to him. Then he reached out and turned off both of their headsets completely giving them privacy and eliminating the distraction of the others words in their ears.

They looked at each other for a several seconds before Ed finally asked "Samo are you truly okay right now?"

Sam dropped his head and rubbed his temples. He stayed that way for a minute or so. Then he sighed and looked back up at Ed. There was a deep trust that had been built between the two over the past years.

So he replied "Honestly, I'm not in the best place right now. I'm really trying to hold it together and make appropriate decisions. I have to do my job. There is too much at stake."

Ed looked long and hard at him a bit surprised Sam was being so frank.

Sam saw the surprise but continued "Ed, I did what I did to stay legal. To as Wordy put's it, do it with clean hands. I could have gone rogue. I truly considered it. I have the contacts and the resources to do that. But in the end, doing it the right way won out. I wanted to get Ben and Daphy back the right way."

A hard, dangerous edge filled Sam's eyes as his body went rigid "But after that image, god help me Ed. Right now I could kill every last one of those bastards and not bat an eye."

Ed had no doubt that Sam had the resources if need be. He quickly reviewed Sam's actions and behaviors on the call so far. He could find no fault. Hell he even had presence of mind to ensure Leah was squared away with her first lethal. He provided Spike with a potential means of information. He helped Russ pull it together. Sam was in pain he could see that but he had handled it well so far.

"Sam, I trust you to do it right. You are a good man. We all have a breaking point though." Ed stated. Then he asked with genuine concern "Are you at that point now?"

Sam considered Ed's words. Where was he really on the scale of right and wrong? Could he hold it together? He looked squarely at Ed and finally replied "Right now I can still do my job. I can stay within protocol."

Ed nodded then reached out and placed both hands on Sam's shoulders and shook him slightly. Then he said seriously "Okay, you stay on the job. But I need your word that if you find yourself beyond your capacity to handle the situation and become a risk to yourself or the team you will give me a signal, a special word or something. It can be something solely between us and I will help you. I will do whatever is necessary to help you do it the right way, keep your hands clean. Do I have your word?"

Sam looked at the man he admired. They had gotten off to a very rocky start. They still argued about things. But he knew without a doubt he could trust him. He had the ability to reach him when no one else could.

Ed could be his safety line today. Ed would ensure he did not cross the line and become a murderer. Sam placed his arms on Ed's shoulders in the same manner. "Yes, you have my word. I trust you to help me. If I reach that point I'll say cats." Then Sam smiled at Ed.

Ed laughed and pulled Sam into a quick hug then released him and slapped his back "Cats, you had to pick cats. Damn Samo you have a wicked sense of humor."


	8. Safe House Wrap Up & Unit Arrives

**Safe House Wrap Up & Unit Arrives**

* * *

 ** _Safe House – Interviewing Picnic Attendees_**

Jules had one last person to speak to. She was drenched, felt sweaty and grimy. Her hair was plastered to her head. She was feeling a bit light headed. She should have brought water with her.

They had been out in this heat in full gear for just over an hour now. She leaned against the porch rail to balance herself. A hand appeared at her elbow to steady her as another appeared in front of her with a water bottle.

"Jules sit on the steps a moment and drink you look wiped out" Wordy said kindly.

Jules sat then looked up to Wordy. "Thanks." She lifted the bottle and drank a quarter of it.

"Whoa slow down, sip" he cautioned. "How's it going here? Can I help?"

"Just one more." Jules pointed to a teenage girl sitting on a tire swing reading a book.

"You want I can talk to her. You head back to the command truck, cool off a bit" Wordy offered.

Jules shook her head "No. I got it." She downed another quarter of the bottle and rose. Only to wobble a bit on the first step.

Wordy was at her side in an instant "Jules, sit now. You don't want to pull a Dale. Right?"

Jules looked at Wordy and cocked an eyebrow at him and thought poor Dale. His action of passing out on the job due to dehydration and heat just became known as a 'Dale'.

Wordy just smiled back and pointed to the steps. She glared at him but complied and sat back down because she sure as hell didn't want it to become known as a 'Jules'.

Wordy headed over to the girl. When he reached her he introduced himself and then started asking questions.

As Jules watched from the steps, she saw a cavalcade of Army vehicles roll up to the scene. Fifteen men exited the trucks and Humvees. There were a couple of cooler trucks. She frowned as she realized those were for all the bodies. She watched as they set to work. That was one grim job she thought.

She glanced to the last two Humvees to arrive. Jules smiled as she recognized one of the men. He was easy to recognize she had never met anyone quite like him. It only took once and she would never forget him. Sam was gonna be happy to see him.

Her attention was drawn away by a young boy who sat down beside her. He was about ten or eleven and had an old digital camera that has seen better days. He asked if he could take her picture. They started talking.

* * *

 ** _Safe House – Near the Command Truck_**

Sam was half-listening to Greg and Ed discuss their status. He was frustrated no leads had been found. The team was doing everything in their power to obtain information but nothing was coming up.

He was also getting concerned that he had not heard a single thing from Winds. Was he still following? Was he out there injured and unable to get help? Had he located Daphne and Ben but could not communicate?

So many questions and no answers. They had exhausted every avenue they had available to them. Sam picked up a bit of their conversation and noted that Greg was now saying they should return to the barn. Sam was out of ideas and as much as he didn't want to he had to agree with Greg. He was about to agree when Ed spoke.

Ed's voice was laced with the same frustration Sam felt as he said "Greg, you're right. We've done everything we can here for now. I agree we head back to the barn and continue investigations from there. Until we have something to go on there is nothing we can do. Spike is still running the photos and he can do that from the barn."

Wiping the sweat off his brow for the umpteenth time, Ed saw Greg and Sam do the same. Christ it was hot and muggy. "We sure don't need anyone on the team pulling a 'Dale' and this heat is sapping it out of all of them. The team could do with something to eat and a cool place to think. The barn would be a good place for that."

Sam agreed with that. He needed the team in top form and this heat was actually a hindrance. Ed was ever looking out for everyone's well-being. He should have made the decision earlier to pull the team to the barn. Interviews of the subject and Spike's work could easily and probably be better done there.

Being in command was new to him. He needed to pull out a different skill set to ensure everyone's safety and think beyond his single minded objective of getting Daphne and Ben back. He was in charge of the team's welfare too. Seeing it from Sarge's and Ed's side increased his admiration of those men.

Sam stated "I agree. Sent Wordy over to check on Jules a bit ago. They should be done in short order. You all can head to the barn. I need to wait until the Army arrives to take over the scene. I'll join you when I can."

He looked over his shoulder briefly as he heard several trucks arrive and noticed the portable morgue trucks and the regular soldiers exiting them. He continued to Greg and Ed "Speak of the devil. Good they finally arrived. I can hand over the scene them and head back to the barn. You can head out now; I'll be just a bit."

The three were about to disperse and start packing up when Leah who had been silently listening to them all tentatively commented "Boss, I'm wondering about something."

All three turned to her but Greg answered wearily, the heat was really getting to him "Go ahead."

She felt a bit uncomfortable under the stare of the three. At Greg's weary tone she thought maybe she should have kept her mouth shut and she was butting in where she shouldn't again. But then she realized his tone was probably from the heat. She was more accustomed to heat and humidity having grown up in Haiti; today was less taxing on her.

So she shared her thought "Well, it's just something you said when we first got here? If they already had Daphne and Ben why didn't all of them leave? Spike's review of the tapes showed they got them quickly but the subjects kept flooding in and shooting at them. It was like they were intent on killing them all."

Sam's mind instantly grabbed onto Leah's thought. "Shit this was not only an abduction it was a kill mission. They didn't want to leave anyone alive. Dammit, I should have seen it sooner. The unit is likely still in danger." He quickly pulled Blaze's phone out.

* * *

 ** _Last Humvee in Cavalcade Enroute to Safe House – Past Hour and Just Arriving On Scene_**

Apollo, Cameo and Pawn were dumbstruck by their Sergeant's behavior. Sarge was damned scary when he was angry. He was pissed so utterly pissed when Sutton had contacted him and told him who to report to.

They had left the base immediately after Sarge had returned from Sutton's office. All he had yelled to the unit was to grab their god damned gear and that they had to report to a cocky little shit of an SRU officer and that the cocky bastard was in charge of their mission.

Pirate and Lotus had taken one look at Sarge then quickly grabbed their gear, jumped in a Humvee and left not wanting to be anywhere near the Sarge. The three rookies were left to ride with Sarge. Whoever this Blondie person was, their Sarge wanted to beat the holy living crap out of him. Sarge punched the side of the Humvee as he got in then kept slamming his hands on the steering wheel as he drove. He had been cussing a blue streak and yelling nearly all the way here. It was a long, uncomfortable hour drive.

Apollo stared at the Sarge. He had thought that he, Cameo and Pawn had lucked out getting assigned to Sarge a week ago. It was said he was one of the best. That he was calm, cool and level headed. But he was definitely not that now.

He surmised that Sarge must be pissed that his unit was reporting to a mere police officer. To him it seemed the Sarge thought this assignment, whatever it was, was beneath them. He would agree; an elite JTF2 unit should not be assisting the police. They had more important things to do, like deal with terrorists.

Apollo wished Sarge would have shared something about the mission with them, but all he did was rage. It was very clear that Sarge didn't like this Blondie person he had to report to one little bit. Kept calling him an idiot, stating he'd beat the shit out him when got him alone for being so stupid. He wondered how Sarge would handle it when they actually arrived and he had to report to what Sarge called the cocky little shit.

Mason was taking long slow breaths now trying to get control. He had to get a hold of himself. He had been raging on and off for the last hour for several reasons. He was sure his rooks were confused by his behavior. They had only been with the unit for a week and were so green.

One of the reasons he was pissed was he was not happy being put on assignment. He knew they had no choice but his unit was not ready. What little he did know of his new rooks was that Apollo was a damned hothead. He needed an attitude adjustment before he got someone killed. He was rash and made unfounded leaps and assumptions. Apollo had an arrogant attitude that Mason was surprised had made it passed Drill Sergeant Braddock. Jeff usually knocked that right out of recruits. He was pissed he had not had time to get his unit squared away before having to go on a mission.

The second is that he could really use Riddler, Brace and Eagle right now. He trusted them but unfortunately it would be months before they were able to return to the unit. He missed them, they were all working so damned hard to rehab.

Mason still felt guilty that they were injured, always did and always would. He should have realized it was a trap and gotten them out of the building before it exploded. Which looped back into the first reason; this assignment was an unknown and he wished he knew the rooks better. They were untested and he wasn't sure how they would react or handle themselves in the field.

Sutton had given him only the bare minimum mission details. All he said was there was an incident at a safe house that involved two packages being taken. He also said that regulars had already been sent to deal with the bodies at the scene.

The last details he shared was that JTF2 had assumed jurisdiction and to report to Braddock for further details because he was in charge of the mission. Then Sutton told him to bring Braddock up to speed on the current state of JTF2 units, it was something they could not share even over secure com lines.

Those last two bits had thrown him off kilter and was the third and biggest reason he was pissed. This was personal, he was reporting to Blondie. Just how the hell had that happened? Who the hell pulled him back in?

Mason knew that Sutton wouldn't have instructed him to give Blondie the full sit-rep if this was only temporary for Blondie. He was going to kill Blondie if that cocky idiot had caved to the General's wishes and voluntarily re-upped.

As the Humvee approached the scene he glanced at the rooks. They just stared at him and said not a word the entire trip. He was sure they were wondering how to react to his furious ranting. He didn't have time now.

He would have to explain later. Mason had needed to let the fury out before he arrived on scene. On scene he would have to act differently to be in control, calm and cool. He couldn't afford to show the anger he felt at Blondie reactivating here.

* * *

 ** _Safe House_**

As he had exited the last Humvee he scanned the area. Shit it looked awful, just what the hell had happened? His gaze landed on a group of three SRU men and a female SRU officer just off to the side.

He found his target, Blondie had his back to him talking to the others. He looked to the five member of his unit they appeared to be taken aback by the scene too, especially his rooks.

The color had leeched from their faces. Yeah they were green, very green. Cameo even looked like he might hurl. He said to his men "Apollo, take care of Cameo, he's gonna be sick. Stay here for now, once I know what's up I'll let ya know."

Then he strode forward with purpose. Mason would know that cocky blonde headed kid anywhere. Just what the hell did he think he was doing? Blondie better have a damned good reason or he was dead.

Sam had just pulled out Blaze's phone. He needed a protection detail for Blaze and his unit right now. Leah was so right; he was mentally kicking himself for not realizing sooner as he dialed. He was halfway through dialing when he heard someone was approaching behind him and saw Ed and Greg smile. Sam pivoted around.

"Well hello Sunshine" Mason said in a cheeky and cheerful voice.

"Afternoon Gorgeous" Sam smiled broadly and replied. He was relieved the unit sent was led by someone he knew and trusted.

Mason pulled Blondie into a bear hug and when he finally released him said "You seem to be out of uniform."

Sam recoiled slightly at the uniform comment and chose not to acknowledge it. Instead he said "They didn't tell me they were sending your ugly mug."

Mason read his reaction to the uniform comment. God dammit this was not by Blondie's choice. He had to know why and how but it would have to wait they had a mission.

So Mason replied cheekily "Just lucky they sent you the best. Brought along a bunch of regulars to secure this scene and deal with all this" his hands swept across the unpleasant scene "So you can focus on the packages. Sergeant Grey is in charge of the regulars if you need anything from them." Mason pointed out the man.

Sam nodded, as happy as he was to see Mason and wanted to catch up, he got right to business "Great. What I need right now is a protection detail for Blaze, Daniel, Hal and Angus at St. Simon ASAP. Whoever is behind this tried real hard to leave no one alive. I believe they are still in danger and they are in no shape to protect themselves."

Mason flinched at Blondie's words but instantly changed to all business at that comment "You want JTF2 or Regular?" He was reeling inside; Sutton didn't tell him Blaze's unit was involved and injured. Blondie did not mention Winds and Russ.

He quickly scanned the area looking for them. He saw Russ but not Winds. His eyes saw all the covered bodies, was Winds under one of the sheets? God he hoped not. He looked back to Blondie waiting for an answer.

Sam considered it a moment "Given the threat level a combo would be best. Two of your guys and four regulars should do for now. I'll contact Sutton in a bit and request a proper security detail."

Mason turned to his unit of five guys. He had two he trusted without reservation and three untested rooks. Who should he send to guard Blaze and his unit? Given the scene around them it was a no brainer, only the best would do.

He called out loudly to his men "Pirate, Lotus, front and center." He turned back to Blondie as they joined them "Blondie this is Pirate, my second and Lotus my go to man for surveillance. I trust them with my life. They will keep Blaze and the others safe."

Sam nodded in greeting then launched into his orders. Within a few minutes they had left with four regulars to provide protection to the downed unit guys.

Jules chimed in over the headset "Boss, found something. Spike, I have pictures for you to analyze. No idea if it is going to be useful or not but a boy found an old camera he said he saw drop from some guy who was watching the house for some time earlier today."

"The boy was playing in the woods behind the safe house when he saw the man looking at the house with binoculars. When the guy left the boy went to see what he was looking at and found the camera." Jules sprinted towards the command truck.

Sam's heart skipped a beat, finally maybe a clue. He trotted to the truck and joined Spike and Jules. Greg, Ed and Mason were right behind him.

Spike pulled up a few of the images. They were interior shots of some type of warehouse. Spike looked to Sam. "Sorry buddy, this is going to take a while to run through analysis before I even know if I have something useful." He saw Sam's face fall slightly but then quickly recover.

Sam said "Okay. I understand. We've done all we can here. Let's head to the barn. The Army has the scene secured. Spike you can run the analysis there."

Mason interjected "Blondie we need to talk privately. Sutton instructed me to brief you on some things."

Sam nodded and looked to Mason "How about your guys head to the barn with the team and we can take the Humvee. I need to stop at my apartment to grab a few things. We can talk on the way."

Mason nodded.

Sam then turned to Greg and Ed "Take Russ too. Set him up so he can continue to monitor the subjects. I shouldn't be too long."

They nodded and everyone set off to execute.


	9. Hothead, Tan Boots, Winds & Qasim

**Hothead, Tan Boots, Winds & Qasim**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

It was a glum team minus Sam that sat eating a late lunch of hastily ordered deli sandwiches and chips. The team had quickly showered and changed to a third uniform today, the last were so drenched in sweat they had become stiff with salts by the time they arrived at the barn. The heat and situation had made them all tense and on edge. They all wished they had more information now, they all wanted to take action now and get that sweet little boy back safe and sound.

As he absently munched on a sandwich Spike was loading the last of the images from the camera to his laptop. He was still running facial recognition searches as he set up analysis program to run on the interior shots. If he was lucky he might be able to find something to help id the location.

Unfortunately the camera was so old there were no GPS tags on the photos. He would have to go a bit old school and look for lighting angles and look for images that showed any exteriors. This was gonna take time. He was still upset that he found nothing of the three vehicles with the traffic cams. His fingers tapped away on the keys.

The three JTF2 guys sat in the back of the briefing room. Sarge told them to go with the SRU officers and he would join them shortly. He then left in the Humvee with the one they assumed was in charge. Mason still had not told them anything yet, it sucked not knowing. They were sure that Pirate and Lotus knew what was going on because they were sent to protect someone called Blaze.

Apollo was stewing; he didn't understand why they, an elite JTF2 unit, were here and just sitting around. It annoyed him. He saw all the dead bodies and knew something was up. He was ready for action but here they sat in a room twiddling their thumbs.

They watched the Sergeant and his TL sitting at the head of the table discussing something quietly while these so called elite police officers ate a lunch. That guy with the laptop looked like he was playing some game or something. Didn't they have work to do? That cute brunette had her head on the table and appeared to be sleeping. That other guy was off in the corner talking to someone called Shel and telling her to hug the girls for him. Pfft personal calls on duty how undisciplined they were.

Pawn was watching the SRU team. Christ they looked wiped out and most he could see were a little battered or bruised. That must have been a horrific call; all those dead bodies. They looked a little better after their quick showers. Hell the time it took them to shower, change and reassemble could put a unit ready time to shame. The only way he knew they showered was the wet hair on the petite officer and the guy with the laptop.

He was more curious now than before. Sarge had ranted and raved all the way here. But his demeanor changed so much when he saw that blonde headed SRU officer. Pawn assumed it was the Blondie he had been cussing out all the way.

It didn't look like he hated Blondie like he had assumed on the ride over because when they arrived he had hugged the blonde and the blonde had smiled at the Sarge. He also thought he saw concern flash across Sarge's face as the two had gotten into the Humvee. Angry, yes; hate, no. He had to think on this. Appearances could be deceiving and assumptions deadly.

Leah saw the JTF2 guys sitting by themselves. They looked a bit lost and confused. She thought she should try to engage them in conversation since they were likely going to work together. She was sitting closest to them and ventured "Hi I'm Leah. What are your names?

The guy closest to her looked at her a little startled and answered "I'm Cameo, this here is Apollo and that is Pawn."

Leah wasn't sure if those were code names or last names "So Cameo, how long have you known Sam?"

The three looked between at each other perplexed; Cameo answered "No idea who you are talking about."

Wordy had finished talking with Shel and heard Leah and the answer. He walked closer and sat next to the one they introduced as Pawn then offered casually "Blondie?" Recognition and something else crossed each of their faces. Wordy gave them a questioning look; not quite sure what their looks meant.

Apollo let his frustration get the better of him and answered snidely "Yeah well no, not personally but Sarge sure as hell knows him. Mason couldn't stop cussing all the way over here. He was so pissed off at whoever this Blondie guy is for some reason. Said he was gonna get him alone and then kick that cocky little shit's ass. He planned to beat the holy living crap out of him."

The team did not laugh and five sets of eyes bored hard into the JTF2 guys Ed, Wordy and Spike all stood. Jules removed her phone ready to make a call. Leah wondered at the team's reaction. Instinctively she scooted her chair back away from the JTF2 guys and closer to the team to show solidarity with the team. The JTF2 guys felt the awkwardness and wondered what they did wrong.

Apollo's first reaction was to protect his friends so reacted defensively. He stood and placed his hand on his side arm but stopped short of withdrawing it as he said with some heat "What the hell?"

Cameo and Pawn froze in place when the TL rapidly strode directly to Apollo and within inches of his face asked in a hard edged voice "Was he serious?"

Ed was concerned. He had only met Mason once. He seemed likable and Sam looked like he was glad to see him this afternoon but he knew that Sam had enemies. The repercussions from the investigation of his military career had hit many people. Sam didn't share any details other than to say that he was likely on many people's shit list.

Spike and Wordy had also positioned themselves closer Cameo and Pawn.

Apollo met Ed's hard edge with heat as he replied "Was who serious?"

"Mason, was he serious when he threatened Sam?" Ed growled.

"Just who the hell is Sam?" Apollo bit back harshly, letting his anger rise.

Pawn having put two and two together stood slowly and non-threateningly with is palms out. Apollo was a hothead and didn't think things through. It was gonna get himself killed one day if he didn't learn to control it.

He quickly looked at Apollo, then Pawn said in a calm voice "Apollo stand down. I think Sam is Blondie. I think Blondie is the guy Mason was talking too and Blondie is the SRU guy in charge of this mission." Then he turned to Ed and said in the same calm voice "Sir. No I do not think Mason was serious."

Ed's stance relaxed a bit at the words and he turned to Pawn "Are you sure?"

Pawn nodded then added "Well he did rant a lot about kicking his ass. But he kept repeating something about how the fuck did hell freeze over as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. He also kept say that he better have a damned good reason. At the time I thought he hated the guy. But when we got here and I saw him hug that blonde officer it made me think it was more worried angry like this Blondie guy was very important to him."

Sighs of relief were heard from five people. Cameo had watched it all transpire. He was glad Pawn defused the situation. Apollo really needed to learn restraint, he was gonna get them all killed one day. He cleared his throat and said "So this Sam or Blondie guy, just who the hell is he and why is he in charge of a JTF2 mission?"

Ed looked at them calmed now and said "His name is Sam Braddock." He was going to say more but the shocked understanding looks in their eyes said they knew who Sam was.

Stunned Apollo and Pawn sank into their chairs as Apollo said "No fucking way. Blondie is the General's son. Shit." Apollo thought, this just got interesting. He heard the stories and rumors about Braddock. Hell he had tried hard to break his records on the obstacle course in training. He came close, very close but they still stood.

* * *

 ** _Sam's Apartment_**

Mason and Sam diverted to Sam's apartment. They had not had a chance to talk on the way to the apartment because Sam was on the phone with Sutton regarding several things. First and foremost he needed the clearances for the team right now.

Sam was pissed it was taking so long. Second he relayed the potential threat to Blaze and his unit and requested more security for them. Lastly, he inquired if Winds had made any contact. Upon arrival Sam motioned Mason to the small kitchen and indicated to him to help himself to whatever, there was not much. Sam usually ate takeout.

He had quickly showered and towel dried his hair. After pulling on his boxers he opened his closet and pulled a bag from the back. He laid it on the bed and removed the components of a uniform he swore he would never wear again. He stared down at them and his eyes landed on his boots.

He had held it together so far but his eyes narrowed in on the stain on the side of his left boot. He had tried to clean them after, but he couldn't get all the blood off. Matt's blood stained his boot as permanently as it stained his soul. His emotions unlocked and he dropped to his knees and let out a single strangled howl of pain.

Mason heard the pain filled howl emitted from Blondie's room. He instantly raced to it and opened the door. He found Blondie on his knees his head bowed. He was on his knees in front of him in a blink of an eye. Mason reached out for his shoulder as he said softy and full of concern "Blondie?"

Sam raised his head and Mason could see the bitter pain reflected in his eyes. Sam pulled back out of Mason's grasp and tried to stand. He stumbled but Mason's hand quickly caught him and his firm grip prevented him from falling. Sam tried to pull away again.

But this time Mason held tight and forcefully pulled him into a hug as Sam struggled to get out of it. Then the fight left Sam and he let Mason hold him. Sam's arms hung limp at his sides as Mason's wrapped firmly around his upper body and held him very close. Sam turned his head to the side as a few tears slipped from his eyes.

Mason knew whatever was going on was multi-layered. Blondie did not breakdown easily. The look in his eyes said it all. He was in pain, deep, penetrating pain. He knew that kind of pain could not be related to only reactivating or Blaze being hurt.

Something else was in play here and he needed to find out what. But first Blondie needed a bit of comfort so he could pull it back together, so he just held tightly. After about five minutes Blondie tried to pull away again. Mason let him and simply said "I'll be in the kitchen." He left the room and closed the door.

Sam stood there for several more minutes as the few tear streaks dried. He picked up the towel off his bed and scrubbed his face harshly to remove all traces of the tears. He was so not okay, very close to being fine. He needed to be objective. It was so hard.

The years with SRU had changed him. It was harder and harder to slip into and stay in the detached soldier mode. His ability to keep his masks on had diminished somewhat.

The effect of connecting with people in the worse minutes of their lives had an impact on who he was. Most times he thought it was for the better, but now he needed the old Sam in order to get through this. But he didn't quite exist now.

He looked at the boots again. Some god damned boots had undone him. He picked them up and shoved them back into the bag and put the bag in the back of the closet. He hoped he could do this. Ben, Daphne and Blaze needed him to be able to do this. He would do his best. He just hoped his best would be good enough.

Sam sighed deeply as he started to don the uniform. He hated the tan uniform. A huge part of him already missed the cool pants. When he finished tying his black SRU boots he stood and grabbed the tan beret and put it on.

He looked in the mirror and it was an odd mix he saw reflected; part Army and part SRU. Army uniform with SRU boots, tactical gear and sidearm topped with a tan Special Forces beret. Yeah, that was him right now; stuck between worlds. One he didn't want but was now committed to and one he wanted desperately but had voluntarily given up. He threw the beret on the bed, too damned hot to wear that today.

Sam reached up to the left pocket of his SRU tact vest and pulled out the duck drawing and unfolded it. Images of both Matt and Ben entered his mind. He stared at it trying to decide whether to leave it here or take it with him. In the end he placed it on the dresser. The picture represented innocence; it had no place in a uniform of violence. He left his room.

He found Mason at the small island counter with two ham and cheese sandwiches and two sodas.

"Lunch is served Sir" Mason said casually teasing as he observed the mixed uniform. Blondie didn't belong in the Army anymore. It hurt to know he was stuck there now.

Ignoring the Sir comment, Sam grabbed one of the plates and a soda then headed to the family room area and sat in the black swivel chair. Mason followed and lowered himself to the couch.

Sam said "So what do I need to know? What was it that Sutton wanted to tell me but couldn't over a secure line?" Then took a huge bite; he was starving.

Alone now he could let his emotions show and Mason stated hotly "Christ Blondie you have no fucking idea the shit storm you've been pulled into."

Sam wasn't expecting that and looked confused but stayed silent waiting for Mason to continue.

Mason saw the confusion "Dammit kid. This is the worst possible time for you to reactivate. The decisions on exits are not up to the General only now. A damned committee is in charge of that, new stop-loss protocols. They are never going to let you go given the current situation."

Sam lowered the sandwich his gut churning now "What exactly do you mean?"

Mason tried to calm himself but there was an edge to his voice "Units are going down left and right. We cannot churn out new recruits fast enough to replace the men killed or injured. In the last three months, five full units are down. Wait now six with Blaze's unit down. Several units are running at partial strength. A month ago three of my unit went down and are still recouping. Got three rooks with me today; they are still wet behind the ears and untried. Only been with me for a week but we were assigned because we were the only unit available."

Sam blanched "How, why, who?"

Mason stood and paced "That's the thing, they really don't know exactly who. They think it is coming from one terrorist cell but intel is so sketchy they don't even know where it is based. It could be anywhere. It could be anyone. Whoever it is, is targeting SF units; lots of bad intel luring the units into traps." He stopped and faced Blondie directly and bellowed "SO WHY THE HELL DID YOU REACTIVATE?"

Mason watched as Blondie stood and walked to the bedroom and returned with a sheet of paper. He handed to him. He looked down at a crude drawing of something the might be a duck. He looked up confused at Blondie.

Sam said "I had no choice. It was the only way to save Matthew Benjamin Hunter Jr. and Daphne Blain."

Mason didn't believe what he just heard. "But Daphy's dead and Matt didn't have a son?"

Sam looked at him and said "No she is not. Yes he did. They were the ones Blaze was protecting at the safe house."

Mason found himself seated on the floor unsure how he had arrived in this position. He looked at the picture again then up at Blondie. "Shit."

Sam reached down and took the picture then reached out a hand and help pull Mason to his feet.

Looking at Mason Sam said unemotionally "So basically I'm screwed. I thought they might treat it as a temporary assignment but from what you just said that is not gonna happen."

Mason shook his head sadly.

Sam walked back to the bedroom.

Mason assumed it was to put the picture back. He was shocked when Blondie returned a few minutes later. He had removed all SRU gear including the boots. Before him stood Blondie decked out in only Army gear along with the tan boots and tan beret on his head. He had a bag which Mason assumed contained the SRU gear.

Sam said flatly "If you have no other intel to share we need to get going. You have a spare vest and arms I assume."

Still stunned and saddened at what he was looking at Mason simply nodded yes.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex - Outside_**

Winds had followed the bastards here. He was hidden in the trees. He made sure this wasn't just a stop. He saw them carry both Daphy and Ben into the warehouse.

He dropped to the ground in a concealed spot to finally tend his wound. It wasn't too bad but it hurt like hell and he had lost a fair amount of blood. He worked to get the pressure bandage on his bicep. It was hard to do one handed but he finally managed using one hand and his teeth. He was just glad it wasn't the shoulder. At the last second his arm had deflected the shot.

Winds was kicking himself for not keeping his phone on him. Although to be fair it was on the counter charging. But he really needed it now. He needed to let Blaze know where they took them. He would have to find a way.

He saw several men patrolling. If he watched for a bit he could identify if there was a pattern and determine the best time to overtake one of them. Winds wiped the sweat off, it was too humid today. He leaned his head back to rest a moment. He needed just a moment to gather his strength.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex - Inside_**

Mousa watched as Qasim worked. Qasim looked back at Mousa and said "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, it is time to move on. I want no trace left behind. After I get what I need from her you can have her as payment." Qasim was good at what he did and he used his skills often and with great effect. He had been quite useful the past few months. But he was also one sick bastard; loved to inflict pain for fun. His bizarre laughter at watching his playthings as he call them wither in pain as he jabbed needles into them made Mousa's stomach churn.

Mousa had put a stop to Qasim taking soldiers for that purpose several years ago because it brought too much attention to his group. He preferred to stay unseen and unnoticed. The SF group that raided one of his old compounds and killed so many had been there to get Qasim.

He had been so angry with Qasim that he nearly put a bullet between his eyes; but Yassin had reminded him that Qasim was his best bomb maker so he lived. Every now and again he would provide Qasim someone as payment for services rendered so to speak. He could see no better way than to deal with the woman than to give her to Qasim.

Qasim asked "What about the boy, don't I get him too?"

"He won't be leaving here alive. It's the price she will pay for her traitorous actions. She will get to watch him blow up with the buildings. Then you can do what you desire to her." Mousa turned to leave and as he walked out he said "Let me know when all is ready." His phone rang and he answered it. "Yes"

 _["We are back, have the woman and the kid. The idiots in the back with her knocked her unconscious." Yassin said]_

"Have them lock her and the boy in the room. Send Bandar to check on them, can't have her dying before I get my information. Then gather the men in the second warehouse. It is time to clean house. Did Fadel and Syed make it back?" Mousa asked.

 _["Syed yes, Fadel no" he responded.]_

Mousa stated "You and Syed know what to do. Do not fail me or you will meet the same fate."

 _["Consider it done" Yassin replied then hung up._

 _Cleaning house was something Mousa did whenever they moved location. No traces. No one left alive that could identify him. Only the core group was allowed to live._

 _Since Fadel died at the safe house, it was down to only him, Syed, Bandar, Raashid and Qasim_ _now. When they got to wherever they went next it was so easy to recruit new fodder. People were so easily manipulated into believing a cause. He couldn't speak for the other cores but the real reason he did this was money, plain and simple Mousa compensated him well.]_


	10. Uniform Defines the Man?

**Uniform Defines the Man?**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Front Desk_**

Winnie heard boots hitting the floor walking into the SRU. She was busy finishing notes from Team Three's last call. She looked up to greet them "SRU may I help …" her voice trailed off.

Her eyes had landed on a huge bear of a man. So tall he towered over the other man several steps behind him by nearly a foot. She did not fully register the other man because of the man approaching her. He was broad shouldered, barrel chested and had biceps almost the size of basketballs, well that was exaggeration but they were huge. He was bald, and his face was terribly scarred.

She wondered just what type of action he had seen that had caused scars like that. He looked hard as nails in all ways but the goofy grin on his face.

Then she noticed the Army uniform and tan beret and knew he was Special Forces. Only SF wore the tan caps. He was most likely with the other JTF2 men who were already in the briefing room with Team One.

Winnie rose from her chair and said "I assume you are with the others."

His smile broadened and he nodded yes.

"Let me show you to the briefing room" Winnie responded.

The other man dressed in the same uniform as the grizzly bear sized man caught up to the bear and was about to turn in the direction of the briefing room as he stated "No need Winnie, I know the way."

Winnie stared stunned wordless. She fell back into her chair.

Seeing her reaction he paused as he gave her a quick small smile. "Yeah it's me Winnie. Is the team in the briefing room?"

All Winnie could do was nod yes.

"Thanks" Sam said as he strode ramrod straight with purposeful strides toward the briefing room.

She wondered just what the heck was going on. Today was so very odd. Winnie would have to corner Spike later and ask him.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

The team and JTF2 guys had quickly resolved the earlier misunderstanding and were now all gathered around the table looking at the nearly one hundred warehouse photos that Spike had printed out. He decided it would be faster to go really old school and have several eyes looking them over while his computer ran the analysis too.

Ed, Wordy and Pawn were trying piece together a potential layout based on the photos. The rest were looking them over closely for any identifying elements that Spike could use. Everyone was so focused that they didn't bother to look up when they heard two sets of boots coming toward the briefing room.

Out of his peripheral vision Ed saw two Army uniforms. He sighed. He had hoped it was Sam because they could really use him on the layout puzzle. But he stood anyways to greet the new comers. He turned and in a shocked questioning voice he said "Sam?"

All of Team One looked up at Ed's one word question. They were thunderstruck and speechless at seeing Sam outfitted in his full Army gear standing at parade rest with a hard set to his jaw and steel glint in his eyes. So very different from the man they normally saw in his SRU uniform.

Sam stood still. He knew each one of his team needed a moment to process their thoughts at seeing him dressed this way. He waited.

Apollo saw the blonde man and immediately saw the resemblance to his General. He thought HOT DAMN, what luck, I get to work with General Badass's son. If even a quarter of the stories of Braddock are true this should be awesome. Can't wait to get moving.

Cameo and Pawn were both confused. Why was the SRU officer now dressed in an Army uniform with the rank insignia of Master Corporal when he was no longer military? If he was military then why was their Sergeant reporting to a Master Corporal? Today was confusing to say the least. They looked to their Sarge and saw a weird look on his face. They so wanted to know what was going on.

Leah looked in wonder. Damn, Sam looked good in that uniform. But she reflected how a simple change in uniform had changed the demeanor of the man so much. She did not understand what the others did. But she hurt for him nonetheless based on the various expressions on the faces of her teammates. She looked back at Sam. It was clear as day from the guarded look in his eyes that he did not want this but that he accepted it as something he had to do. He was definitely the most complicated of the team.

Greg sighed. All the things Sam had gone through as a soldier, it was a damned shame he had to go back. Greg was going to miss him. He hoped it wouldn't be too long before Sam would be back. His spot would be here if he wanted it.

He hoped Sam would want it. Greg hoped this would not break Sam completely. He could clearly read Sam was near the edge. Sam had been through too much, too god damned much. But he was strong and resilient and Greg had hope Sam would come back to them. If Sam broke they would help him rebuild again. Sam was family and they would never abandon him.

Ed thought Sam is all soldier now, hard edges. A soldier had different protocols. In this case, it might be better Sam was a soldier. A soldier had targets to be taken out not subjects to be talked down. Given the scene at the safe house that mindset was probably what was needed to get Ben and Daphne back alive. Sam would have different protections as a soldier, certain actions would be justified for national security.

I will definitely not be hearing 'cats' today, Ed thought a little sadly. God dammit Sam, you never seem to catch a break. It's always the hard way for you. You always pay a high price to protect those you love. Will you never learn you are important too and not take unacceptable risks to save others?

Looking at Sam dressed as he was, Ed came to realize, no Sam would always protect others before himself. Ed silently vowed, I promise Samo, we will have your back, just like you always have ours. We will do all in our power to help you.

Wordy closed his eyes. It hurt too much to see Sam pulled back into that world. He was doing so well with them. He was moving forward and making a life. The raw pain Sam had shared only with him on the day he had called out _'Wordy, help me'_ ripped his gut again.

How could the General allow this to happen? He was a hard man for sure, but he loved his son. His conversations with him at the Royal York hotel and in the hospital when Sam was in a coma showed him that.

So how the hell could he let Sam reactivate? The General should have denied him. The General should have found another way to help Sam. Sam was always protecting others. Who the hell was protecting Sam? Wordy clenched his fists, he really felt like punching something.

Spike froze. Images of all the horrible things he had heard as they had all listened to Sam that night he found out about his lungs flooded in and threatened to overwhelm him. Sam's first words he said that night rang solidly in his head _'Everything I love gets taken away from me. I can't live like this. It always hurts.'_ He was not, unequivocally not going to let that happen again.

His brother needed him to be strong, like he was being. Sam always faced things head on, like when he overcame his fear of water. Spike would not fail Sam the way he failed Lou.

Spike sat back down and started on his laptop again. He had to find a clue. He had to find a way to locate Ben and Daphne. His hand absently snaked down to his right cargo pocket and patted. His mind registered his action and mentally checked, yes _Beauty_ is fully charged.

Jules' face was blank, completely, utterly devoid of any emotion for several long seconds. Then it crumbled and she ran from the room.

Sam immediately did an about face and strode after her.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Women's Locker Room_**

Sam went directly to the women's locker room. He didn't bother to knock as he opened the door and walked in because there were only three women in SRU. Jules, Leah and Donna and Donna was on vacation.

He knew where to find Jules. Where he always found her when things overwhelmed her. It didn't happen often but when it did, he was always there for her. He found her in the back corner of the farthest shower stall.

She was seated on the floor, knees raised and tucked close to her body. Her face buried in her arms that were folded across her knees. He heard her light sobs and saw her shoulders shaking. It hurt to see his strong Jules in such a state, especially because he knew he was the reason for it.

Sam slowly squatted down in front of her and softly crooned "Jules."

It took several minutes but she finally looked up at him with watery eyes and tear streaks down her face. Her eyes said it all she was hurting badly, for both of them. But she said in a strained voice "Sam, I know you don't want this. I don't want this for you."

Sam shifted to sit next to her his back up against the tiled wall. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Jules rested her head on his chest over his heart. Sobbing renewed. He brought his other arm around her too and he held her tenderly while her emotions flowed uncontrolled.

Uncontrolled waterworks from Jules was rare but it happened. She was comfortable showing this side of herself to him. She knew he would never see her as weak or less capable for showing her softer emotions. He knew it was so hard for her, she always felt she had to hide them. Felt she had to work twice as hard for acceptance in this world.

So her soft feminine side was always held in check. But she knew he would never judge her. He simply accepted her and she knew it was safe to let him see this softer side.

Actually, it was mutual. He only shared certain emotions with her too. Sure the guys had seen him cry a few times. But he sometimes wondered what they would think if they knew he would lay his head in Jules' lap and let his tears flow as she stroked his hair to comfort him after a very bad call or when he had to take a life. She never judged him for that either, just accepted it was what he needed. They had a connection that neither could deny.

Her tears stopped after a time and he still held her in a strong, protective embrace. He didn't offer any words, what could he say? She was right, but he had no choice. She knew he had no choice. But knowing that didn't make it any easier. He knew the drill. She had to release her hurt and pain first, anger would be next, followed by acceptance.

"Ow, damn Jules that hurt" Sam yelped as Jules landed a solid hit to his chest followed by several more.

Yep anger was here in full force. Sam let her pound on his chest for a bit to get the initial surge of anger out. Usually she did not go full force and stopped after a few hits but today was different. Her fury was growing not ebbing and she was landing harder and harder hits.

Sam scrambled to a standing position and she followed still swinging landing several more hits. Sam managed to grasp her fists and then pin her arms to her sides as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her back to his chest and holding tightly as she fought for release.

"Calm down. Please calm down. Jules please" Sam pleaded.

Jules continued to struggle growling at him for another minute. Then she finally relaxed in his arms calming. Sam said "You done?"

Jules nodded.

He asked again "Are you sure you are done?"

She nodded again and said quietly "Let me go."

Sam slowly released her.

Jules spun to face him. She landed a hard left hook to his jaw.

Sam rubbed his jaw "Aw Christ Jules, don't ya think I have enough bruises on my face today?"

Jules wiped her hands over her eyes to clear the tears. Then she glared at him as she said with hard authority "Braddock, you better not do anything stupid. You better come back to us. We need you."

Then her eyes turned doe soft as she added gently just above a whisper "I need you. Sam, you have to come back."

Sam pulled her into a hug and said tenderly "Jules, you know I'll try."

He had wanted to promise her he would be back but he couldn't do that. He didn't know. But he damned sure was going to try.

Emotion bubbled up in him and Sam said a little raspy "Ready to go?"

She looked up to him and gave him a small smile "In a moment, you go first. I'll be out in a minute or two."

He could not resist the soft look in her eyes. He lightly traced the arch of her brow with the tip of his index finger and caressed the side of her face. His hand cupped her chin and gradually tilted her face up. Then he leaned down, pulled her tightly to him and kissed her deeply and ardently. When he finally stopped after a minute or so and pulled slightly back he saw an unfocused look to her eyes.

Sam stammered out in a voice cracked with emotion "I'm sorry Jules, I shouldn't have. I was out of line. I'm sorr …"

Jules reached up and pulled Sam down and kissed him back just as fervently.

When they finally separated they were held captive in each other's gaze. Both wanting more; the embers of their desire stirred. Small stress cracks beginning to develop in their carefully constructed walls that restrained their mutual passion.

Sam finally stepped back and separated them physically but not emotionally. In a gravelly off pitch voice he said "Jules, we'll talk later, after this is over."

She nodded.

He turned and left the locker room.

Jules watched Sam go. When she heard the door of the locker room close behind him she walked to the mirror and stared at her image. She stared at her lips. She brought her index finger to them and lightly drew it across them. Jules wondered just what the hell she was going to do.

That man had her heart, wholly and completely. Always did, always would. She had pretended for so long that she could move on. She tried dating, no one compared. Could they have a relationship now that he was back in the Army?

She sighed and quickly wiped her face with tissue to remove all traces of tears. For now she had to focus on the job. Because if they didn't get Ben back, there would be no Sam left.

One last look in the mirror. If Sam could do this, she could do this. Jules steeled herself and strode confidently from the locker room.


	11. Small Kindness, Information & THE ONE

**Small Kindness, Information & The ONE**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Small Locked Room_**

When the mean men left the room Ben scooted next to his mommy. He laid his head on her chest listening to her heartbeat. He wished his mommy would wake up. He wanted to go home. This place was scary. Fresh tears fell from his green eyes. The door opened again and a very scary looking man entered. Ben whimpered and closed his eyes tight.

Bandar knelt down to the boy and said kindly "I need you to be quiet. I'm going to take off the tape but you have to be quiet as a mouse okay."

Ben opened his eyes a tiny bit because the man did not yell at him or hit him.

Bandar gently as possible removed the tape from the boy's mouth. He disliked seeing the red marks it left on his cheeks. He pulled out a very long knife from its sheath and Ben's eyes opened wide and he squeaked in fear. "Ssshhh it is only to cut your bonds." Bandar quickly sliced the tape on the boy's hands and feet, sheathed the knife and removed the tape.

He grasped a small bag he had over his shoulder, put it down in front of him and opened it. He pulled out a water bottle and uncapped it then handed it to Ben "Drink."

Ben's little hands shakily took the bottle. They shook so much he couldn't drink, just splashed water onto his shirt. Bandar reached down and steadied it for him as he drank. When the boy was done drinking he set the bottle down next to the boy.

Next Bandar pulled out an apple and a small chunk of cheese and held them in one open palm offering them to Ben. "Eat."

Ben tentatively reached out for the cheese then nibbled on it.

Bandar placed the apple next to the water. While Ben ate, Bandar carefully peeled the tape from the woman's face and took out the gag. He cut the tape with the same knife and removed the tape from her hands and feet too. He then pulled out a clean cloth and poured a small amount of water on it then wiped the dried blood from Daphne's face. He checked her vitals as Mousa had ordered. She was alive, just out cold. She might have a concussion since she was still out.

Bandar put the cloth down then looked to the boy. He had finished the cheese. "I have something you left at the house. I thought you might want it now."

He reached into the bag and pulled out a small love-worn stuffed Donald Duck and handed it to Ben. He hoped the boy's favorite stuffed animal comforted him even just a little.

The boy clutched it then crawled close to his mommy and held tightly to her. He started to cry and mumble something that sounded like begging Sam Duck to come get him.

It made no sense but it broke Bandar's heart to see the boy so traumatized. Mousa was a cold-bastard to use a boy in such a way. Ever since Assaf was killed this morning he had been trying to figure a way to help Daphne and Matt.

Bandar had found the duck in Assaf's belongings and knew who it belonged to. Daphne had no clue he was deep cover too, it was safer for her that way. Bandar had watched from afar for many years and facilitated her objectives covertly when he could.

He had urged Assaf to talk her into leaving when the boy started talking two years ago. She was too stubborn, that was until the boy said his full name to the last client. He had tried to warn Assaf that Mousa was watching the house and Daphne but he couldn't. Only the cores were allowed phones or communication devices of any sort and even that was so tightly controlled as to be essentially nonexistent.

Mousa kept everyone on a very short leash and unfortunately he had not found a way to save them. He would gladly break his cover that had taken him seven years to develop to save the boy, but they wouldn't get more than ten yards from the place before Mousa or his men would mow them all down. Mousa attracted the scum of the earth who had no issue with killing innocent children, some would even enjoy it. He shuddered as an image of Qasim entered his head.

Bandar brushed away thoughts of Qasim. Even if he could get away from here he didn't know if any help could be found close by and by the looks of it Daphne wouldn't get too far without help.

Hell he didn't even really know where here was. Mousa moved everyone except Yassin, Syed and Fadel under the cover of darkness and in windowless vehicles. He could be anywhere and he was ninety-nine percent sure there was no option to save the boy. Bandar decided it was better to stay in cover until he discovered that one percent option. But time was so short now.

Bandar had joined the covert ops division of Special Forces and gone under cover because he wanted to save innocents. As he observed the little boy, possible options continued to run through his mind. In his mind he yelled dammit loudly. He could think of nothing that would work. It sucked being a pragmatist and a realist sometimes. Unfortunately in his mind it was a cold hard fact that he could not save this one innocent boy and this good woman.

He knew his, Assaf's and Daphne's work had saved hundreds if not thousands of innocents. But that was of little comfort to him now as he watched the terrified boy clutch his stuffed duck and cry. If only he could find a way.

Bandar bent his head and did something he had never done before. He said a silent prayer, then lifted his head and said softly but out loud "Please let the winds of the air carry my prayer for help to willing ears and capable hands."

As he closed his bag and rose he heard the muffled sounds of the boy now calling out for windy sam duck to come. What strange things the little boy said. Little Matt must be so frightened to be so incomprehensible.

Bandar looked down at the scared little boy one last time clutching tightly to his Donald Duck toy. What he had just done was the only small kindness he could show without being caught. Bandar left the room and re-locked the door.

He needed to take a walk. It hurt too much to see, he had to get out of here for now. He could always ask Mousa if he could check the perimeter so he could walk to the tree line and clear his head.

Yeah he would go for that. Mousa liked security so he would go for that. Bandar walked down the corridor intent on finding Mousa.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Interview Observation Room_**

Russ had been listening for a long time now. They were mostly quiet or teased the guy that ran about being taken down by mere women. He had responded back to them with a long tirade of curse words and disparaging comments about women.

Christ these men had idiotic attitudes and seemed rather stupid. Russ had seen his fair share of extremely capable and brave women. Daphne came to mind then he thought, damn that take down of this man by Jules and Leah was something to see.

He heard a few prayers. He heard complaints about the food they were offered. About fifteen minutes ago he asked Sergeant Parker if the subjects could be left totally alone in the room. No officer present.

Russ thought they might loosen up and talk differently under that condition. Parker agreed and the officer now stood just outside the room while he was in the adjacent room listening and watching through the one-way mirror.

"فاضل ، چه می خواهیم کاری انجام دهید؟ "  
(Fadel, what are we going to do?) Kamaal asked.

"هیچ چیز ، آرام باشد."  
(Nothing, be quiet) Fadel responded.

"اما ما به نیاز برگشتن به انبار."  
(But we need to get back to the warehouse) Kamaal replied.

"شما بهتر است در اینجا، آرام باشد"  
(You are better off here, be quiet) Fadel urged.

"اما موسی خواهد بود عصبانی ما نمی گرداند شما سعی به اجرا شود. چرا که همه ما نمی امتحان کنید؟"  
(But Mousa will be angry we didn't return. You tried to run. Why don't we all try?) Kamaal said worried.

"من را ساکت کرد. فقط خوشحالم شود تو اینجایی. در غیر این صورت شما مرده خواهد بود. آیا همیشه می گویند نمی نام او دوباره"  
(I said shut up. Just be glad you are here. Otherwise you will be dead. Don't ever say his name again) Fadel responded frustrated that Kamaal kept talking.

"اما فاضل ، چرا ما مرده باشد؟"  
(But Fadel, why would we be dead?) Kamaal asked his eyes lit with concern.

"از آنجا که او برنامه ریزی شده برای تمیز کردن خانه شما ادم سفیه و احمق . اگر شما در خانه امن میرند شما را در انبار می میرند. خفه شو در حال حاضر Kamaal."  
(Because he planned to clean house you idiot. If you didn't die at the safe house you would die at the warehouse. Shut up now Kamaal) Fadel growled out contemptuously finally losing all patience with the stupid man. The men Mousa and Yassin hired were always lacking in intelligence; made it easier to manipulate them but so frustrating at times.

"موسی برنامه ریزی شده به ما را بکشند ؟ چرا ؟"  
(Mousa planned to kill us? Why?) Kamaal asked disbelieving.

"بله شما ادم سفیه و احمق ، او همیشه می کند ."  
(Yes you idiot, he always does) Fadel said disdainfully.

"Guard, guard I want to talk" Kamaal yelled.

Fadel launched himself at Kamaal even though he was still cuffed yelling for him to shut the fuck up, that he would kill him if he talked.

Russ rushed to the room and with the help of the officer guarding them pulled Kamaal to safety out of the room. Fadel continued to rage that he was going to kill him if he talked. Russ told the officer to place Kamaal in another interview room as he ran to get Greg.

He finally had something they might be able to use and someone who was willing to spill more information.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Shortly after Jules left the briefing room and Sam followed her Mason had pulled his men off to the side. He finally briefed them on the situation. Apollo had reluctantly admitted to his rash behavior with the team. Mason had taken him outside and privately read him the riot act for his behavior and made clear his expectations with regard to his behavior in the field.

Now that they all understood the gravity of the mission, they reconnoitered their behaviors and adjusted them appropriately. After all they were trained as special ops, about time they acted like it instead of like eager puppies. Each donned serious attitudes and focused on the tasks they were assigned.

After leaving Jules in the women's locker room Sam had retrieved his own encrypted unit phone from his locker again along with his Glock and extra clips from his lockbox. He chuckled lightly, as he held his unit phone and realized he was running out of pockets for phones, he now carried three; his personal, Blaze's unit phone and his old unit one.

Sam had contemplated putting his personal one in his locker but at the last moment decided to hang onto it. He used his encrypted unit one to contact Colonel Sutton. He was now in the corner of the briefing room discussing when the team's security clearances would be available. His expression indicated he did not like what the Colonel was saying.

When Jules returned to the briefing room no one said a word about her reaction to Sam being in an Army uniform. Each of the others had been just as shocked. They had all noticed the new bruise on Sam's jaw but again said nothing about that either. Jules sat down and rejoined the group that was assessing the photos.

Leah covertly glanced at her. She could see the slightly puffy and redden eyes and knew Jules had been crying.

She understood the need to hide the softer emotions. They were highly skilled women working in a male dominated field. They often had to work doubly and triply hard for acceptance and not to be seen as weak; although the men of this team accepted them just fine.

She laughed inwardly and the word fine. She would probably get lots of hard looks using that word like she did from Sam earlier today. It was very hard to change ingrained habits. But then she thought about it, after taking a life today she might just be very close to the team's definition of fine. She forced the thought away and refocused on the photo in front of her.

Sam hung up his phone with a deep frown. He looked to Mason and signaled for him to come over. Speaking so as to not be overheard "Mason, your rooks, what are their skill sets and security levels?"

Mason quickly looked at his men then replied in the same soft undertone "So you noticed they were rooks?"

Sam gave him a look that said who wouldn't recognize that but kept quiet.

Mason smiled and said "Cameo is my comms and intel man level two, Pawn is recon and medic level one and Apollo is my long distance marksman and tactics also level one."

Sam nodded. Mason could see him struggling momentarily with a decision.

Very quietly Sam explained "Okay. Sutton is having a hell of a time getting clearance for the team. Needs some committee's approval and running into all kinds of road blocks, essentially snafu. You and I both know we cannot afford the time delays. I'll understand if you don't want to and I'll find another way but I need to bend protocol a bit. I need Cameo helping Spike. Spike cannot access the databases directly himself. But if Cameo accesses them Spike can direct him what we need to run. Are you okay with that?"

Mason instantly called out "Cameo, new assignment" as he trod over to Spike.

Sam followed and Cameo joined them. Mason quickly explained what Cameo needed to do and got immediate agreement from Cameo. Spike and Cameo moved off to a corner of the room and began to work.

Sam smiled as he watch Spike's reactions as Cameo pulled up access to a special facial recognition databases, special vehicular tracking software, aerial footage analysis program and he was sure a few other cool things.

Spike's eyes opened wide and eager as Cameo accessed the database. "Damn this is sweet." His fingers began flying. Very happy geeky sounds were being emitted by Spike as he and Cameo accessed all the new tools.

The team looked at Spike and smiled. They loved it when he geeked out but they would never tell him that. It was more fun to tease him about it.

Russ raced into the room ever so slightly out of breath, more from the excitement that he had news to share than physical exertion. He saw Blondie and said "Blondie..," then stopped stunned as he registered the uniform and a new bruise on his jaw.

He recovered quickly and continued "Got three names. Two are in custody Fadel and Kamaal. They were talking about someone called Mousa. They referred to a warehouse too." He then highlighted the conversation and the fact Kamaal wanted to talk. He pointed out who Fadel and Kamaal were to Spike.

Sam patted his back and said "Great work Russ."

Greg, Jules and Russ rushed off for the interview room to speak with Kamaal. Spike started searches to try and find full names and associations for the men in custody and for the other name Mousa in the special ops terrorist database.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Interview Room 8_**

Greg and Jules were questioning Kamaal. He was very cooperative but not much usable information had come from him yet. He didn't know the location; he was always transported in a windowless truck. He was only told to kill the guards at the house. He didn't know why. He didn't know who Daphne or the boy was.

Kamaal did tell them Mousa's full name and that he killed one man today for being asleep on the job. They kept trying but it was looking like a dead end for useful information. They had a name but no location. What they needed was a location.

Jules pulled Greg aside "Boss, what if we show him the pictures. Maybe he can confirm if those are shots from the location."

Greg said "Fantastic idea Jules. Also you can give Spike Mousa's full name. That might help too."

She nodded and headed for the briefing room.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Spike screeched out loud "Got a hit!"

Sam and the others rushed over.

"Jawhar Fadel is in the system. His known associates are Anwar Yassin and Azmi Syed. Running those names now" Spike shared.

Ed interjected "Do you have access to travel logs to see if either of his associates are in country?"

Sam responded "Would mostly likely be unhelpful. If they are in the database they would be flagged no fly. Red flags would have risen if they tried to enter. They would have used aliases. Any hit on Mousa?"

Spike moped "Yeah like over a two thousand. Apparently Mousa is a fairly common name without more details."

Jules entered at that moment having overheard the last bit of conversation. Jules eyes were alight and she said how about "Abdul Khaliq Mousa?"

Spike's fingers tapped away. His eyes widened and he whistled then looked up to Sam and frowned. "Whoa buddy, we can't access the information. Apparently there is some but it requires a level five security."

Mason grimaced and said unhappily "Christ only the top brass and a few key operators have that level. Blondie, who do we need to contact? Could the General help out?"

Sam reached for the laptop and said evenly "Excuse me for a few minutes. I have to access this in private."

Everyone stared at Sam as Spike handed the laptop to him and said in wonder "You have level five clearance?"

"Yeah" is all Sam said as he marched from the room with the laptop leaving everyone awestruck.

Ed thought, that kid has secrets, more than we will ever know.

Mason thought, damn he never knew the kid's level was that high, his was level three which was high for unit soldiers.

Apollo thought, wow being a General's son would be so cool. So many advantages. Level five wow.

Jules told Ed the plans with the location photos as she gathered some up. Pawn spoke up "Could I be of use? If he does recognize them perhaps he could be useful in putting together our layout puzzle."

Ed responded "That would be good."

So Pawn followed Jules from the room.

Ed turned to Mason "So, your unit looks a bit green. How long have they been with you?"

Mason had had his own concerns about his men earlier but seeing them work so far had eased them. He still wished they had the opportunity to run drills and gel as a unit before getting assigned but his initial fears were steadily ebbing the more he saw.

The rash, hothead he saw in Apollo reminded him a bit of Blondie when he first joined the unit. He recalled what he saw when he reviewed Apollo's file a week ago. His marks and scores in all areas were exceptional, he was a close rival to Blondie in many ways.

So he responded to allay Ed's concerns "Long enough. Green for Special Forces maybe but all extremely capable soldiers. They wouldn't have passed special ops training if they were not field ready."

Ed nodded satisfied. Mason was right; green as they maybe for SF they were still more capable than the average soldier. He walked to the window and took a moment to clear his head. The scene at the safe house had affected his team. When they found the location he wondered how much death awaited them there.

He glanced at Leah. He could tell she was still shaken from her first lethal. He wondered if he should bench her. The first was always traumatic. If she had to take more lives today it could be devastating. He needed to think.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Conference Room 3_**

Sam entered the sound-proofed conference room and locked the door. He set the laptop on the table and pulled up a chair then typed in his security access code. The file on Mousa opened.

It was very thin and didn't even have a photo. He read the file on Mousa. It did indicate that Mousa was the head of a very active but very elusive terror cell.

Mason had indicated JTF2 didn't know who was responsible for the hits on the units. However the information in this file indicated that they highly suspected it was this cell. Sam realized that Mason was not aware of this fact because his security level was not high enough and this information was highly classified and on a need to know basis.

Christ, if this was the cell Daphne was undercover in that would explain why they hit so hard at the safe house. Daphne knew too much. What the file did contain was that whenever Mousa moved locations he never left any low level operators alive, Mousa killed them all. There were at least six suspected previous locations around the world.

If in fact those locations were Mousa's he had killed well over four hundred of his own. That made Sam's gut wrench. Mousa would have no problem killing one woman and one boy. His suspicion that person in charge of the safe house attack was a cold-blooded killer was absolutely correct.

He reasoned that this must be why getting access for the team was so difficult. Not just anyone could access or be privy this information, not even most soldiers in JTF2. He had a higher security level than most in JTF2; only a very select few had this level.

Blaze was level five too. Sam guessed that was probably why Blaze's unit was assigned to protect Daphne. They both attained level five due to several black ops missions the two had been sent on when the rest of the unit was in down time.

Sam continued to read about Mousa's known associates. He was not finding anything really useful for today. Other than knowing it would be very dangerous because the man in charge of the cell was a terrorist that killed indiscriminately.

Stretching his back to relieve some tension he took a short sip of water then he pulled the laptop a bit closer. He only had one more associate file to review. Sam pulled up the file on a Rifat Qasim, Mousa's bomb expert.

Sam scanned the top of the page reading his MO for bombs. It was fairly standard but highly effective. Although the way he linked multiple bombs together would interest Spike. But damn, Sam could not share this information with Spike.

He scrolled the page down and an image of Qasim was displayed. He pushed back hard from the table and stood knocking the chair over trying to get away from the face shown on the monitor.

Sam's stomach clenched. He gagged as saliva gathered in his mouth in preparation of hurling. He was taking deep breaths to try and steady himself.

No. Just No. NO. NO. NO.

Sam stared at the man's face. Images of needles entered his mind and he started to shake uncontrollably. Phantom searing hot pains assaulted his entire body.

He knew that sadistic bastard's face.

Sounds of disgusting laughter full of malevolence filled his ears and roared in his head. His hands covered his ears trying to keep out the sound. It would not stop because the sound was inside.

His chest and back felt like they ripped open. His breathing became labored short fast gasps. Sam could not help himself, he screamed and screamed and screamed at the top of his lungs until his throat was raw.

No one heard.

The images, sounds and pains were relentless. His whole body had tensed and gone so rigid every muscle burned. Sam had screamed so long and so hard he had no more voice.

All logical, rational thought had escaped him. He was back there, in that room, staked to the ground, bruised, bloodied, wanting to die as they tortured him with the needles.

Oblivion came as Sam blacked out.

As he fell to the ground he struck his head hard on the sharp corner of the table causing a small gash over his right eye.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Sam had been gone for nearly twenty-five minutes and everyone was getting antsy. What was in the file that was taking so long?

Ed couldn't sit still anymore so he rose and headed for the door.

Wordy called out "Ed, where you going?"

Ed replied "To check on Sam, see if he needs anything. See if he found anything that we can use."

Mason got up and said "Coming with you."

The two men headed to conference room 3.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Outside Conference Room 3_**

Ed knocked on the door and called out "Sam."

There was no answer. He knocked again harder and called again "Hey Samo."

Still no answer. Ed was getting agitated. The least he could do is acknowledge him.

Mason stepped up to the door and knocked more forcefully and called out "Blondie open up."

No answer. Mason and Ed looked at each other to judge their reactions to the non-answer. Ed's was frustration, Mason's was concern. Mason reached out and tried the door. Locked.

Ed pounded on the door and yelled irritated "Sam open up now."

Winnie had heard the commotion as she walked back from the file room "Ed he can't hear you, remember it is the sound-proof room. Use the intercom on the side."

She smiled, sometimes Ed's impatience got the better of him. Winnie stood watching as Ed mashed down the intercom button. His repeated calls to Sam went unanswered.

The concerned look he had seen on Mason's face had started to gnaw at him. Ed turned to Winnie "Do you have the key?" He felt something was not right.

Winnie went to her desk and returned with the key. Ed said "Thanks."

"No problem. Just bring it back when you are done" Winnie said as she headed back to her desk. She shook her head slightly as walked; Team One was having one heck of a day.

Ed unlocked the door and opened it. His eyes landed on Sam.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Inside Conference Room 3_**

Ed rushed forward. Mason followed right behind. Sam was on the floor and bleeding from a small cut above the eye. Ed ordered "Close the door now."

Mason complied but asked "Why?"

Ed didn't know why, he just had a feeling. He didn't want to expose Sam's condition to the rest of the team until he knew what was going on. So he ignored the question in favor of focusing on Sam.

He knelt down and lightly tapped his cheek. Sam felt cold and clammy. Not good, did he pull a 'Dale'? He had expressly warned him to stay hydrated today. As he tapped he called softly "Sam, buddy. Hey Samo come on wake up."

As Ed was on the floor dealing with Sam, Mason eyed the computer screen.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Mason roard.

Then Mason dropped to the floor, sat crossed legged and pulled Blondie's head and shoulders gently into his lap. He crooned so softly and caringly as he stroked Blondie's hair, emulating what Matt did all those years ago "It's ok, it's ok, you are safe. You are safe. I'm here. You're safe."

Mason continued his litany of soft comforting words as he rocked a bit back and forth and tears welled in his eyes.

Ed was dumbstruck to see this huge bear of a man cradle Sam in his lap and speak to him like you would a small hurt child.

Mason continued a little panicked "You are NOT there. I promise. You are NOT there. Come back, oh god please come back."

Ed glanced at the monitor and saw a picture. He looked back at Sam. He watched Mason's actions. He listened to his words.

It struck him. His head whipped back to the monitor. That was one of the bastards that tortured Sam. There could be no other reason. He looked back at Mason and saw tears starting to fall from his eyes. Emotion choked Ed's words as he said "He was one of the men that tortured Sam wasn't he?"

Mason looked to Ed, his voice quavered as he said "Not just one of, he was The ONE.

The ONE that pretended to care.

The ONE that drove the burning hot needles slowly and deeply into his stomach.

The ONE that laid open his back and chest with the whip.

The ONE that beat him until there was not an inch of skin not bloodied or bruised.

The ONE that did all that while he laughed sadistically.

The ONE that did it repeatedly for months until Blondie wanted to just die.

The ONE that broke him."

Ed grabbed the trash can and hurled as Sam's words from that night long ago came back and brought with them images of what he had endured. When there was nothing left in his stomach and when the retching finally stopped he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat back on his heels. It was silent in the room for a while as Mason simply held an unconscious Sam.

Finally Ed roused himself from his own stupor and said "We should get some help. He may have a concussion from falling and hitting his head."

Mason shook his head no without looking up at Ed. Concern but confidence laced his words "No, give him a moment. He will come back. This happened a few times in the first six months after but then stopped. I think seeing the picture triggered it. He will come out of it soon."

As if hearing this Sam started to stir. As he became aware of his surroundings Sam realized he was in someone's lap. Why? Damn his head hurt again. Did he hit it and fall? Did he fall and hit it? He was unsure of the order of things.

He reached up to the new ache above his eye and when he touched it he felt wetness. Sam moved his hand to his eyes and blinked them open. Yep blood. Letting his hand fall his eyes focused above him.

In a light but slightly brittle tone Mason said "Have a nice nap Sunshine?"

He saw the remnants of tears in Mason's eyes. The why rushed back. His body started to shudder again.

Mason said softly but urgently "You are not there. You are not there. Do you hear me Blondie you are not there."

But the tremors continued and increased as his breathing became irregular. Sam was trying, trying so hard to control it but it was winning. The sounds of cruel laughter started again and he covered his ears to block the sound.

Ed commanded loudly "Braddock stop now. You are at SRU. Sniper breathing. Do you need me to count it out?"

Sam registered Ed's strong voice over and above the incessant malevolent laughter. He turned his head to find the owner of the voice. He found Ed and locked eyes, blue on blue, and nodded yes.

Using the same powerful voice Ed counted out the breathing pattern over and over. Sam kept his eyes locked to Ed's and focused solely on his authoritative voice as he followed along. His breathing slowly came under control. As the breathing evened out the shaking lessened and then finally stopped.

It was Mason's turn to be dumbstruck watching Ed guide and calm Blondie; he watched Ed gradually take Blondie away from the past and bring him fully into the present.

Breathing normalized, shuddering stopped, Sam closed his eyes breaking the connection. He stayed still and silent trying to decide how to proceed. How many times was Ed going to see him at his worst?

Well maybe this is the last; he was stuck in the Army now. Sam shifted and tried to sit up. His whole body ached, he just wanted to lay here but he couldn't, he had work to do. He had to find Ben and Daphne or they would be dead soon.

Mason held Blondie down. He knew what the episodes did to him back in Kandahar. Blondie was physically hurting from it. Phantom pain or no, it left him aching and sore for days. He took a cue from Ed's method and in a firm tone ordered "Rest a minute. We need to tend to the cut above your eye."

Sam tried to rise again and Mason bodily restrained him with one strong arm laid across Blondie's chest and the other holding his shoulder down.

Mason stated firmly "I ordered you to stay put Corporal. Willingly or unwillingly you are not moving right now."

Sam stopped trying to rise and lay back down. He knew Mason had the strength to keep him pinned in place with only one arm and god damn it Mason just pulled rank on him too.

Looking at Ed, Mason asked "You got a first aid kit around?"

Ed rose and left the room to get the one from the break room.

With his eyes still closed Sam heard Ed leave and the door close behind him. Sam struggled to speak as he rasped out over his raw throat "Mason, I know you know I'm fine right now. But I have to push that aside. I'm asking for your support for Blaze's, Daphne's and Ben's sake."

Mason was glad Blondie's eyes were closed so he did not see the pain expression he knew he wore. He knew what was at stake. He hoped the cost of the action he was about to take would not be too high.

Sam opened his eyes in time to see the remnants of Mason's pained expression as he reconfigured his expression. He also watched him wipe away the last of the tears from his eyes.

Mason ruffled Blondie's hair, gave him a grin and said "You need a haircut Sunshine."

Sam nodded understanding he had Mason's full support. Sam then closed his eyes and focused inward for a bit trying to sort a few things out while Mason forced him to lay here.

Ed reentered the room, closed the door then walked over and handed the kit to Mason. He sat in a chair and watched as Mason cleaned the wound and put a butterfly strip to hold it together. He knew Sam was not okay, but he knew for a fact in today's situation Sam would not admit to being fine. He would keep close watch. He would not lose him today.

When Mason was finished he stated "No stitches needed." He helped Blondie to sit up slowly.

Sam sighed and rolled his head around his neck then grinned at Ed. The grin did not light his eyes, it was false. Sam said in a still very raw, raspy voice "Damn my face is taking a beating today."

Mason and Ed chuckled at that. All of them knowing Sam was using deflection but no one calling him on it.

Ed rose, reached out a hand and pulled Sam to a standing position as Mason rose himself from the ground. All three sat in the chairs. Ed asked "So Samo any useful info in the secret file?"

His voice still very raw but sounding a little less raspy he replied "Not really beyond it will be very dangerous. Ed I'm seriously thinking of removing Team One from any tactical action."

That surprised Ed but he knew for Sam to even consider something like that he had to have a good reason so he replied casually "Explain why?"

Sam grimaced a bit as he swallowed. Damn it hurt to talk. He grabbed the water bottle and drank to try and ease his raw throat.

Then Sam explained "I cannot share the details in the file. Suffice to say the man we believe has Daphne and Ben is not a distraught family man or disgruntled ex-employee at the worst possible moment of his life. He is without a doubt a cold-blooded killer. The men he hires are the same. You saw the safe house and what happened to four war-hardened specially trained men. That is what we can expect when we go in to get them." He paused and took another drink.

Then he continued a little stronger and almost normal "I know the team does not have the soldier shoot first, no talk mind set. That is the mindset needed. It would destroy many of them to act in that manner. You saw Leah today. It was her first lethal. Can you imagine how she would handle it if she had to kill more today? And Boss, it would tear him up inside. I don't even want to think what it would do to Wordy, Jules and Spike. The team would never be the same."

Ed considered what Sam said. He was absolutely right and it mirrored his earlier thoughts. Sam was protecting others again, protecting those he cared about. He needed to be sure Sam was protected too. Ed looked to Mason then asked "Your unit, can they handle this?"

Mason knew what Ed was asking but not saying. He knew Ed knew that the men could handle the killing. Ed was really asking would his unit have Blondie's back? So he answered the real question "Yes we have Blondie's six."

Ed nodded "I have an idea Samo. Depending on the location, you and the unit clear and secure while Team One holds a perimeter and assists as backup if need be."

Sam was glad Ed did not fight him on this and he had supported his decision. He gave Ed a small grin and said "Sounds like a workable plan. Now all we need is to find the location."

Preparing to get up and leave the room, Sam glanced at the picture and silently vowed you are a dead man if I ever find you. He logged out of the file, picked up the computer and rose. "Let's see if the team has come up with anything new."

The three headed back to the briefing room.


	12. HELP, Saved You The Apple & The Location

**HELP, Saved You The Apple & The Location**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside, Treeline_**

Bandar had walked the entire perimeter several times. His head was no clearer. He just could not go back inside yet. Daphne was sure to be waking soon. Then it would be too late to save either of them.

He sat on a tree stump a little ways into the trees. He needed a bit of privacy. Bandar lowered his head and let the sorrow he felt for the little boy release.

Winds picked up a slight sound and opened his eyes. He knew he had been resting far longer than he had planned. He wasn't quite sure how much time had passed but by the position of the sun he figured it was more than an hour.

He must have lost more blood than he thought but he also knew the sweltering heat was a factor. His head was throbbing, his muscles ached and he felt so tired. He needed to check out the sound so he shifted slightly and carefully looked out from his concealed location.

There was a man near the edge of the trees sitting on a stump. He was making sounds but he couldn't quite make out what he was saying other then he clearly heard I'm sorry. He was speaking English not Farsi like the others at the safe house. If he was lucky he could get the drop on the guy and if he was even luckier he would have a cell phone.

Winds rose quietly from his position. Dizziness made him hold a few moments before he crept from his hideout. The man did not seem to be aware of his approach. That is until the very last second.

He whirled around striking out. Winds blocked the hit with his left arm and pain shot up and down the whole arm. He launched himself at the man's midsection to take him to the ground. They wrestled back and forth, equally matched. Winds was tiring quickly and knew he had to get the right hold. He finally managed to do so and was applying pressure to choke off the man's air supply.

Bandar had seen but not registered the uniform the man was wearing until he focused on the sleeve of the arm as he tried to pry it from his throat. He needed air. He was having great difficulty, the guy was holding too tight. Bandar knew he was going to lose consciousness fast.

He had to act quickly. He was not sure if he would get the right response but he croaked out "Heavenwing, Heavenwing." His vision was getting fuzzy. He tried one more time "Heavenwing, Heavenwing."

Winds was so focused on subduing the man. Using all his strength to make his muscles do what he required them to do and to push past the pounding in his head that he did not hear the first words the man said. Then Heavenwing entered his head.

He should not do this, if he let go now he would surely not be able to regain control of the man, his strength was quickly flowing away. But he had said Heavenwing so Winds released the barest amount of tension only enough to allow the man a small amount of air. Winds replied "Heavenwing Eclipse."

The fuzziness that had been rapidly closing in without air abated slightly as Bandar got a little bit of air and he countered "Heavenwing Eclipse Lunar."

Winds maintained his hold still only allowing a tiny bit of air but he was dumbfounded. He responded "Heavenwing Eclipse Lunar Phoenix."

Bandar struggled to maintain consciousness with the minuscule amount of air that was getting through. He breathed out with difficulty "Heavenwing Eclipse Lunar Phoenix. Naked. Exfil Ops two."

He had completed the code for HELP, identified he was naked meaning working without backup. And that he required an exfil rescue operation to bring two people out of harm's way.

Winds was stunned as he released him and rolled away. He rose quickly to a ready position but was very unsteady. How the hell? Winds demanded "Name, service."

Bandar rolled and sat up trying to gulp air in. His prayer released to the winds had been answered. He had no clue how or why the fates chose to favor him but he was so glad, here might be the one percent option. "Naseer Bandar, covert ops. You?"

Winds shook his head trying to clear the dizziness. Whoa, he thought that was not a good idea to do, it made his head hurt more but he looked at the man and replied "Cousin, dark."

Bandar understood the term; he was Special Forces, JTF2 likely and would not identify his call sign or name. His unit was likely engaged in a mission so he was dark and no further information would be shared from him. He was breathing normally now, air restored he hesitated only briefly before saying "Urgent, need to exfil a woman …"

Winds interrupted him "and a boy. I know. Do you have a phone?"

Bandar was surprised he completed what he was going to say but reached into his pocket and withdrew the phone. He pulled it back quickly as Winds tried to snatch it.

Winds snarled and launched forward and pinned the man to the ground.

Bandar croaked out "Stop you need intel, dangerous, very dangerous. Let me explain first."

At that Winds pulled back and squatted on the ground using his good arm to steady himself on the ground "Tell me now and quickly."

This damned heat was impacting him, taking him way off his game. Winds couldn't afford this now. He focused on the man in front of him taking in his appearance, trying to judge who he was dealing with.

Damn that must have been painful the thought looking at the man's face. He noticed a hooded kindness in the man's eyes that did not jibe with the fact he was here with the bastards that took Daphne and Ben. He waited for the man to speak.

As Bandar sat back up that's when he noticed the state of the soldier. He was teetering as he squatted, trying to steady himself with one hand on the ground. He was barely sweating despite the muggy heat and his face was a mix of paleness and flushed. Bandar still felt warm where the soldier had touched him trying to grab the phone and the soldier had a blood soaked sleeve. Wow, the soldier was in bad shape.

Bandar motioned he was going to get his pack off. Winds nodded ascent. Then Bandar pulled his bag off his back and withdrew a sealed bottle of water and offered it to Winds. Winds shook his head no. So Bandar opened it and took a drink and swallowed showing Winds there was nothing wrong with the water, not drugged or poisoned. Then he offered it again to Winds. He accepted and drank the entire contents.

Winds looked fiercely at the man still trying to judge him but said "Thanks, talk."

Bandar delved into only the items he could tell not knowing or being able to verify the soldier's identity or security level. He told him that a woman operative and her boy were being held by a man named Mousa. That the buildings contained at least forty men all armed many with semi-automatic weapons. Bandar said that the woman would be tortured for information and that Mousa was planning on using the boy against the woman.

He explained that once Mousa had the information he was planning to clean house but the methods varied and he did not know which one he was using this time. Last time he personally shot them point blank one by one. Sometimes he slit their throats. Other times he hung them. But his favorite method was to blow up the building with them all in it, sometimes alive and tied up and other times already dead. But whatever method he used no one ever left alive except the core group and maybe one or two hand-picked middle level that had proved worthy. He provided the names of the core group.

Winds listened carefully; he needed to provide as much information as possible when he reported. This was bad, that was a hell of a lot of hostiles to get through to save them. He focused on his priority, Ben and Daphne. "I need the location of the woman and boy. Can you draw me a map?"

Bandar nodded. Winds realized he had nothing to write with or on. Bandar shook his head, he didn't either.

As Winds reached to the side to pick up a stick he lost his balance and ended up on his butt. Frustrated at his body he grabbed the stick and tossed it to Bandar. Then he cleared away the ground beside him. His eyes closed briefly but he forced them open as he thought damned heat.

Bandar quickly got to his knees and drew a basic map of the two buildings. Then pointing at the map said "This is where they are now on the first floor. This room locks. Mousa plans to split them up when he interrogates the woman. I believe he will likely take her here on the north side of the second level. It is the only room with windows and where he does all his tarp work."

Winds interrupted "Tarp work?"

Bandar sighed and explained what happened this morning and what had happened there several times over the course of the past nine months. So many men killed, Bandar hated to think of the number. Mousa had no regard for human life.

Then Bandar continued "But the boy I do not know where he will take him. She is unconscious now, or was when I left quite some time ago. When she wakes he will start to question her. He plans to kill the boy regardless."

Winds had flinched at the last statement as the slight odor of peanut butter wafted to his nose and an image of Ben appeared in his mind. He grabbed the phone.

Bandar stopped him from dialing "Choose your words carefully. I am the lowest level, unlike Yassin who has been Mousa's right hand man for twelve years. So Mousa has rigged my phone to allow only ten seconds if making a call out each hour. If he calls me there is no such limit. But if I try to make a call only ten seconds are allowed. So you have only ten seconds to convey information to whoever you are calling." Covered in sweat and exhausted by the heat Bandar sat down.

Nodding, Winds took a moment to decide what was most critical given the limit. He had a lot of information but only ten seconds. It was hard to think right now; he was doing all he could to force his mind to focus.

His headache had not abated, muscles were aching and he was so tired. It took him much longer than normal but he finally sorted it out. He needed to identify the packages, the location, number and firepower of hostile targets and his location and that he had more detail.

He was about to dial Blaze's number when he remembered that Blaze was down. He saw him get hit in the hip and it looked bad. It was unlikely he would have his phone right now. With only ten seconds he couldn't risk him not answering. Winds also could not call the normal line to report, authentication took longer than that.

Winds pounded the ground next to him with his fist several times. Who the hell to call? He stood to pace, he thought best doing that but his calf muscle cramped and he ended up back on the ground.

As he flexed his foot and rubbed out the cramp in his calf he tried to determine which of his unit to call; he did not know their status beyond Angus and Daniel were also down. Hal or Russ? Shit, shit, shit. If he called the wrong one he would have to wait another hour to call another person and he could not risk that.

His head would not stop throbbing and he switched to rubbing his temples to try and ease the pain. He had to think; he needed to call the right person. Winds stood again seriously needing to pace and think but this time dizziness over took him.

God dammit he thought as he crashed to his knees. Blackness was creeping in the edges of his vision. This fucking heat, he didn't have time for this. He knew the signs of heat exhaustion and he was experiencing many of them. He sat back on his heels and tried to bring his vision back to normal.

Bandar sat watching the soldier; he did not look good at all. He could not even stand and had fresh blood on the sleeve. It was likely from the hit he had landed earlier. Bandar grabbed his bag again took out another water. He always water because he never knew when or if he would have to leave and he needed to be prepared.

He crouched next to the soldier and said "Drink."

Winds looked to the man. He took it and downed half the bottle of water. Bandar then said "Let me look at the arm. I think you are still bleeding. Let me tighten the bandage, stop the bleeding."

Winds shook his head no.

"You cannot do it yourself. Too much blood loss. Let me tighten it please" Bandar said.

Winds pulled away from the man as he tried to touch him.

"You cannot save them if you bleed to death. Let me only tighten it. That is all" Bandar cajoled.

Winds glared at him. It galled him the man was right. He finally shrugged his left arm out of his jacket and let the man tend the wound. Bandar pulled the bandage tight causing Winds to wince in pain.

"I think that will be better now" Bandar said as he moved away.

That was all Bandar could do so he said "I have told you everything I can. I have to return. If I do not they will come looking for me and might find you. I've been gone too long."

He stood up "I will do what I can inside to keep them safe until you can come for them." With that Bandar left the cover of the trees and slowly walked toward the warehouse.

Winds downed the last of the water and put his arm back into the jacket. His vision was a little clearer now but not by much. The dizziness hadn't abated and he had little strength left, he had pulled so much from his reserves.

He sat down heavily on the ground. Winds mentally started running through his list of unit contacts dismissing one after the other for various reasons. Shit, who am I going to call?

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Small Locked Room_**

Daphne became aware that Ben was clutching her and whimpering softly. Her jaw ached badly and she was stiff and sore. She opened her eyes and took in the fact they were in a small windowless room. She noticed all the tape had been removed. She reached to Ben and pulled him closed to her as she whispered gently "Sssshhhh sweetie, hush now."

She managed to push herself into a seated position while holding him to her chest. Once seated, she adjusted him so he was sitting cradled in her lap with his head laid over her heart. She held him snug as rocked him back and forth as she softly cooed to calm and comfort him.

When he settled a bit she held him slightly away from her to look him over. She saw red marks on his cheeks, fat finger shaped bruises on both arms and legs. She saw the scuffed and bloody knees. He was missing one shoe.

She carefully lifted his shirt to check his tummy, chest and back. There was bruising there too. He had been roughly handled. Daphne raged internally that someone could hurt her little boy in such a manner.

But outwardly she remained calm. Daphne lifted the corner of her t-shirt and used it to lightly wipe away his tear streaks. She caressed his face as he looked up to her with big sad, fearful green eyes. Daphy gently asked "Sweetie, how did you get these?" as she pointed the bruises on his arms and scraped up knees.

Sniffling Ben said "The scary, bad men hurt me, pushed me down."

He started to cry in earnest again and reached down and picked up his stuffed toy that had fallen away when mommy had moved him. Ben clutched it close to him as he sobbed.

She pulled Ben close again and rocked trying desperately to sooth him and not lose her own composure. That would not help them in any way. She had to keep it together.

Daphne then saw the toy he held and said "Who brought you Donald Duck?"

Then she also saw the water and apple. She thought maybe they have a chance. Assaf would have risked himself to bring the toy and water to Ben. She wished he was here right now.

She should have listened to Assaf long ago. She could be so darn stubborn and reckless. Blaze had always warned her she would pay a price for it one day. She was devastated to realize he was so right and it was not just her that was paying the price.

Ben had not answered her yet so she coaxed again, needing to know if Assaf had brought it "Ben, can you tell mommy who gave you your toy and the water?"

The crying eased up and he hiccuped as he answered haltingly "The man with the big knife. He was scary looking but he was nice. He didn't yell or hit me like the mean, bad men did. He gave me cheese too." He pointed to the apple and said bravely "I saved the apple for you mommy. Unca Sam said we have to take care of mommies so I saved it for you."

Daphne smiled at his thoughtfulness, every day she saw more signs and behaviors in Ben that reminded her of Matt. Ben was so like his dad. She also wondered just what Sam had said to him.

She said "Thank you sweetie, how about we share it. You eat a little first." She reached down, picked it up and handed it to him.

As Ben ate Daphne was mulling over what he said about the man. Assaf was not scary looking. He had the kindest face and Ben knew him, played with him. He would have said Assaf. But if not Assaf who? No one Mousa employed would do such a thing. They were all killers. They would not care anything for a child.

So she asked "Can you tell mommy what he looked like? How did he look scary?"

He nodded his head, handed her the apple and cuddled closer to her "His face was all icky."

Ben didn't offer more of a description so Daphne prodded "Icky how?"

Then she took a tiny bite and handed the apple back wanting him to eat it all but making it seem as if she was eating too. She picked up the water and took a small sip conserving the rest for Ben. She had no idea how long they would be locked in here.

Eating several bites and thinking for a long time Ben finally said "Like Scar from the Lion King."

Daphne thought she knew who he was talking about but needed to clarify "You mean he had a long scar across his eye and down his cheek to his chin and another big scar on the other cheek?"

Ben nodded.

She then asked "Did he have long black hair and did the knife he had have a big red handle?"

"Yes mommy. I was ascared of the knife but he just used it to get off the tape" Ben replied.

Daphne was surprised. Why would one of Mousa's core do something like that for Ben? She had never spoken with him; he had only seen Ben a few times. Why would Bandar do that?

She handed Ben the water and ensured he took a long drink. She looked at the apple and was glad to see he had finished most of it before he handed it to her.

Ben wiggled in her lap remembering the scary knife and the bad men that hurt him and threw him down then whimpered "Mommy when can we go home? I don't like this place it's scary and hot. I wanna go home." Soft fearful crying started again.

Daphne set the apple core and water down then held him tight and rocked him "Soon I hope sweetie, soon."

She closed her eyes and sent out a silent plea for help. Blaze, please come soon we need you. Listening to Ben cry, emotion overwhelmed her as she thought about the cold-blooded killer she was dealing with and regret filled her completely.

She had been too reckless. Daphne could no longer stop the tears from spilling from her eyes and her body started to shiver. She was grateful Ben couldn't see her eyes and the shivers were covered by her rocking.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

Russ, Pawn, Jules and Greg had rejoined the group and shared that Kamaal indicated that the pictures did indeed look like the interior of the warehouse. But he also said don't all warehouses look alike. He gave as much detail as he could but he said he had only been there for about three days. He had only recently joined.

He offered up that it wasn't just one warehouse that it was actually two warehouses. He told them that Mousa used the two story one for his command post and the single story one is where he kept all the supplies. He indicated both had basements and were connected by an underground tunnel via the basements.

With that detail Spike was working with Cameo to program search parameters for the aerial footage analysis program. Cameo was impressed by the speed at which Spike worked. He could learn a thing or two from this guy. He watched closely and asked some questions but not many. He didn't want to distract Spike from his work too much. This was too important and it had been a long time since they had arrived at the safe house.

Ed, Sam and Mason entered the room together. Sam handed the laptop back to Spike.

Spike looked up and said "Thanks, buddy did you …" then he saw the butterfly bandage above the eye "Geez are you using your face as a battering ram today or what?" that caused everyone to instantly look at Sam.

Ed stepped in before Sam said anything "Hit him with the door when I opened the conference room too fast."

Sam turned to look at Ed as did everyone else. It wasn't like him to offer up a fake excuse. He was grateful to have the attention pulled from him. But they would have to talk later.

Ed just stared at him and lifted an eyebrow that Sam read as 'what? you want me to tell them the truth?'.

Greg, Spike, Wordy and Jules did not believe Ed for a second. Something happened but Ed did not want to share it now. They wondered if it was with all of them or if it was the unit he didn't want to share it with. No one called him on it.

Wordy saw the look between Sam and Ed and wondered if they had butted heads again and if it had finally gotten to the point of a physical altercation. Both alphas, their arguments had become so heated sometimes that it felt that they were close to coming to blows a few times. But that had been long ago and mostly after Sam had returned from being shot and Sam felt Ed was coddling him.

He shook the thought away. No they wouldn't do that during a call. Then he thought again about the current personally charged situation and asked himself, would they? He filed this away to talk to Ed about later. Whatever it was he wasn't sharing with them had to be significant because Ed didn't lie.

Sam looked away from Ed and scanned the room. He cleared his throat and said "Guys, we've been discussing tactics for when we find a location. Ed and I are in agreement. Given the situation we are dealing with and the fact JTF2 has jurisdiction, the unit will take the lead to clear and secure the location. Team One will maintain a perimeter and assist if needed."

Startled looks crossed all of Team One. Sam continued "Sorry, you guys are the best but I have not received clearance for you to participate further than finding the location."

Sam looked to Ed and gave him a look that meant 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'. Yep Sam just offered up a fake excuse too. He didn't need additional clearance to assist in that manner. But he really didn't want to argue with the team about it being too dangerous and explain about the mindset needed.

This time Greg, Spike, Wordy and Jules did not believe Sam for a second. It was his tone and the way he did not quite meet their eyes and how he glanced fleetingly at Ed. Something definitely was up and neither would share right now.

"So have we gotten any closer to finding the location?" Sam asked quickly trying to move forward away from the bomb he had just dropped on his team.

At that Greg brought the three of them up to date on the location and search Spike was conducting. Kamaal had been helpful in the layout puzzle too. As Greg finished Sam's personal phone rang.

Sam looked at the caller id, unknown and blocked, "Hello …" he stopped talking as he instantly recognized the urgent and firm voice on the other end.

 _["Sit-rep BH, DB exfil. Warehouse. Derry and Hartford. Forty heavy. Winds. North trees quarter click, additional." Winds said quickly said trying to get it all in within the ten second limit.]_

"Copy" Sam said just before the call dropped. The room stilled. Sam looked to Mason. Mason saw the concentration on Blondie's face like he was memorizing something.

Sam went straight to the whiteboard and wrote out what he heard _Sit-rep BH, DB exfil. Warehouse. Derry and Hartford. 40 heavy. Winds. North trees quarter click, additional._

Then Sam said "This is all Winds said before the call dropped."

Everyone studied it. All the JTF2 guys understood. Sam and Mason shared a look; this was going to be as bad as they thought.

Sam started giving out orders "Spike look for warehouses that fit our criteria near Derry and Hartford. Cameo get us a map, we will find Winds north of the warehouse a quarter click in the trees. Pawn work with Cameo we need a way to get to him undetected he has additional info we need before entering."

He turned to Mason "How much fire power did you bring?"

Mason shook his head "Not enough for what we are facing there."

Sam turned to Greg "Boss we need to take arms and ammo from SRU."

Greg wasn't exactly sure what the message said but inferred they were facing at least forty heavily armed men so he said "Wordy, Jules get whatever Sam needs."

Sam listed off what they needed and they headed out.

As he listened to what Sam requested Greg realized why Sam was not allowing the team to participate. This was truly a soldier scenario and would most likely end up like the safe house. Sam was protecting them.

Leah had heard Sam's request and was reading the message but was not sure exactly what it meant so asked "What are you facing there?"

Apollo leaned close to her and said "Forty armed targets with automatic and semi-automatic weapons."

Leah stared at him in shock "You six are going to take on that many?"

Apollo shrugged and replied "It's what we are trained for." Then he looked to Sam "Blondie, want me to go with and help get what we need?"

Sam nodded yes. Just as Apollo neared the corner Sam called out "Apollo tell Wordy to grab the riot pack."

That perplexed Apollo, what was a riot pack and why would he need it? But he simply said "Willco."

Spike piped up "Got it." He displayed the warehouse aerial photos on the large display screen for everyone to see and study. "Working on blueprints now. Will send both to PDAs in a second."

Sam, Ed and Mason studied the warehouse layout as the rest of the team geared up.

Within five minutes of receiving the call from Winds the team and unit were on their way to the location. Sam, Ed and Mason would make the tactical plans on the way since their ETA was nearly thirty minutes at full speed.

The warehouses turned out to be an old shoe factory and warehouse that has been abandoned for almost fifteen years. It was an isolated complex surrounded by dense woods on three sides. It had one narrow access road and the nearest buildings were over five miles away.


	13. Defiant Ben & That's An Order!

**Defiant Ben & That's An Order!**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Small Locked Room_**

The door opened and Daphne jumped at the grating sound of the hinges. Mousa walked in and sneered "So you finally decided to wake up Daphne."

Daphne held Ben close and tightly as she stood up and backed away from Mousa seeing the gun in his hand. When she got to the far corner she pried Ben from her arms and put him behind her, shielding him. "Mousa, thank you for rescuing me." She tried to use this tactic first. Maybe he didn't know yet. "After I was …"

"Save it. Yassin watched it all at the farmhouse, as you exited SRU and at the safe house. You are a traitor. You will die like a traitor. But if you give me what I want then your son will live." Mousa lied about the last. "Grab her and the boy" he said to four men that entered just behind him.

Daphne shouted "No, leave him alone he is just a little boy" as three men yanked her forward and twisted her arms behind her. She tried not to scream in pain but a small yelp escaped.

Ben was scared and he bit the hand of the man who reached for him and then ran from him as the man screamed in pain. The man chased after him. Little Ben dodged and weaved in between legs causing havoc as the man tried to catch him. The man was yelling at him. Mousa was yelling at the man.

When he ended up in a corner, Ben stopped running, his little heart was beating so fast in fear. He was panting a little bit trying to find away from the bad man and watched wide eyed as the man came closer. Ben kicked him hard in the shin with the foot that still had a shoe on it then slipped past him again. The man yelped in pain again.

"Get the brat" Mousa yelled.

Mousa reached out to grab him as he came close but Ben was just beyond his reach and Mousa ended up with air instead of boy. As Ben ran behind one of the men holding Daphne he tripped on his untied shoelace. As he fell he knocked into the back of the man's knee causing the man's leg to give way.

The man fell sideways whacking his head on the cement wall. Ben rolled out of the way just in time. Daphne was struggling herself but the men were stronger and two of them had her arms wrenched up very high behind her nearly dislocating her shoulders.

Ben scooted around Mousa again. This time he got ahold of the edge of Ben's shirt but the little boy was to nimble and fast and as he turned to try and get away Ben's head accidentally rammed hard into Mousa's groin.

Mousa yelled and let loose as he clutched himself and fell to his knees dropping the gun he held. Mousa called out for more men when the pain from the hit subsided a bit. Two more appeared.

The room was so small there wasn't really any place for Ben to go now with so many men. He had backed up close to a corner. But he had picked up the gun that Mousa dropped. He had no clue really what he was doing but he knew what a gun was; he had played with water guns and nerf guns before with mommy and Assaf. So he knew you just point them and pulled the thingy on the handle.

When he had touched Unca Sam's gun when they had the snack and asked why he had one, Unca Sam said it was 'for protecting people'. He liked the new word protecting and asked Unca Sam what it meant. Unca Sam had said 'protecting was like caring for people, helping or saving people and stopping people from hurting other people'. Then he had asked who needed protecting and Unca Sam said 'lots of people'. Ben asked like mommies and Unca Sam had smiled at him, nodded and said 'yes like mommies'.

Ben was so afraid but if Unca Sam could protect people with one he could protect his mommy. So Ben pointed the gun at Mousa. He wanted to protect his mommy they were hurting her, he had heard her scream.

The gun was heavy and Ben could not hold it up for long but he yelled at the top of his lungs his voice as shaky as his hands "Bad man, bad man. No hurt my mommy. Let my mommy go. I protect my mommy."

Everyone stilled, they were shocked and surprised that the boy was leveling the gun at Mousa's midsection. Daphne could not believe her four year old son was trying to stand up to these men. How very brave. How very reckless.

She thought a true a combination of father and mother. She started to say something but Mousa walked directly to her as he pulled a long sharp knife from its sheath. Mousa placed it against her throat drawing a little blood.

Mousa stood with the knife to Daphne's throat watching the insolent, defiant little brat pointing a gun, his gun, at him. He knew the safety was on and he finally had enough. He yelled at the boy "Stop now or I kill you mother right now." He pricked her neck again making it bleed a little more to make his point known to the brazen brat.

Ben's eyes went wide and filled with fear seeing the scary long knife and his mommy bleeding. He also knew that knives hurt. He had cut his hand open playing with Assaf's knife.

Mommy had yelled really loud at Assaf for leaving it in his reach. So he knew knives hurt, they hurt a lot. As he stared transfixed by the knife at his mommy's throat, one of the men snuck up from behind him and grabbed him tightly and lifted him off the ground. The heavy gun dropped from his hands to the ground.

Mousa sheathed the knife. He retrieved his gun. Mousa walked back to Daphne and slapped her open handed across the face leaving bright red welts in the shape of fingers on her cheek.

He sneered at her "That was for having a defiant little brat."

Daphne kept her mouth shut. She knew this man. He killed at the drop of a hat and she needed time. She knew Blaze would be coming. He would find them. She had to use her head and keep them alive until he got here. Daphne clenched her jaw to keep from ranting at him because he would surely put a bullet through her head if she did.

But Ben didn't know better and he yelled angrily at Mousa "You a bad man. Leave my mommy alone. You hurt her. You supposed to protect mommies, Unca Sam says so."

Mousa walked up to the little boy who was now squirming mightily in the man's arms. Ben was held against the man's chest with his back against the man's chest. "So you have an Uncle Sam?"

Ben nodded defiantly.

Daphne said urgently "Don't talk to the bad man."

Ben did not listen to his mom. His four year old eyes glaring at the bad man he said defiantly "My Unca Sam was daddy's best friend. Unca Sam and Unca Donald Duck and Unca Windy protect people. They are gonna come save me and mommy. You not hurt my mommy again."

An evil smile crossed Mousa's lips. His mind put the picture together from Yassin's descriptions. Only one blonde at the farmhouse. Only one blonde on the SRU team. So the SRU officer Sam Braddock, the General's son, was the brat's father's best friend. That could be useful, very useful. These others, Duck and Windy, he would get their real names out of Daphne.

Daphne pleaded "Please hush sweetie." She knew Ben didn't realize how dangerous the situation was. How could he? Ben was just barely four years old.

Mousa leaned close and sneered at the boy "If you're Uncles come here they will die. I will kill them myself."

As he screamed angrily "Bad man, bad man" Ben kicked out and up hard as he struggled to get loose. Again he accidentally hit Mousa. This time his little foot connected solidly on Mousa's jaw.

Mousa roared at the indignity of a little brat kicking his face, taking his gun, and hitting his groin "You little brat. You are going to pay for that."

Daphne saw Mousa's hand rising to hit her son and shrieked at him to get his attention "You are going to die bastard. You hurt my boy. I am going to kill all of you. You are dead."

Mousa lowered his hand, rubbed the spot where Ben's foot hit and turned to her. The look on her face told him she would give him all the information he needed by threatening to hurt this boy.

His evil and cruel smile returned "I think not. Bring her. Tape the brat up and take him to Qasim."

The brat would surely pay for his insolence. Mousa had intended to kill him quickly with little or no pain. But now Qasim could have him. She could watch as Qasim had his fun.

One man ran forward and taped Ben's hands and feet while two others held him. He was about to tape the boy's mouth when Mousa said "No I want her to be able to hear his screams." Mousa left the room.

They dragged her kicking, twisting and bucking from the room. The other man headed in the opposite direction with Ben and into a stairwell. She heard Ben continually shrieking "Mommy, mommy, mommy …." as he took him away. Ben's calls getting fainter the further they were separated.

Daphne had no idea who Qasim was but Mousa's cruel smile told her she should be worried, very worried for her little boy. She struggled as hard as she could against her captors, she was strong and it took all the men had to restrain her. She yanked hard one last time trying to dislodge the men and earned a punch to the gut.

When she recovered enough air she yelled "You are going to die bastard. You all are going to die. You have no idea what you have done and who is coming after you. You are all dead. They will not rest until you are dead, every last one of you."

Mousa continued to walk as he laughed and said "No one is coming. We killed them all at the safe house. They are all dead. No one is coming for you Daphne or your little brat."

Daphne refused to believe him. Blaze and his unit would come for them. So she continued to fight and struggle against the men.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside, Treeline_**

The unit and team had stopped and geared up nearly a mile from Winds reported location. It was a long distance but the only option that would allow them a covered and stealth path to Winds. They could not risk detection. The unit was heavily equipped with weaponry. The team was all outfitted with MP5 and extra ammo.

Jules and Ed had their sniper rifles slung over their shoulders. Sam carried the riot pack and extra gear for Winds. Greg, Wordy and Leah all carried shields. Spike carried his special tech pack with all kinds of gadgets that may or may not be needed; he wanted to be prepared being so far away from the vehicles. Team One and the JTF2 unit were all tapped into the same communication headsets but they had yet to turn them on.

Sam looked at them all as everyone did a final check they had everything they might need. They had devised a basic strategic plan but needed to find Winds, get his intel then make any adjustments needed to their basic plan.

"Ready?" Sam asked.

Everyone nodded.

Sam started to sprint stealthily through the woods to the location indicated by Winds. The others followed. Spike started to follow then realized he had forgotten his basic bomb pack so quickly grabbed it and hurried to catch up.

Everyone was drenched in sweat by the time Sam signaled for them to slow. Today must be a record for heat and humidity. As Sam approached the area Winds should be in he slowed. He took a knee signaling the others to do as well. Sam scanned the area looking for likely hiding areas. With hand signals he indicated to the rest to stay as he moved forward slowly and cautiously to locate Winds.

Sam made his way in a low crouched position constantly scanning for Winds. He would be here but hidden. He stopped and gave the soft bird-like call he had used in the unit long ago and waited. No recall. He moved forward several yards, stopped and repeated the call. Still no recall.

Again he moved forward, halted and called. This time it was returned. Sam called once again and it was returned. Sam pinpointed the location about twenty yards from him.

Winds made himself visible but did not move from his position.

Sam had forgotten just how good Winds was at concealment. He thought wow I would have never seen him there. Sam approached Winds' position in a low crouch then took a knee beside him.

Winds noticed the full Army uniform and the state of Blondie's face. He gave him a questioning look then said under his breath "Damn good to see you Blondie but you're out of uniform."

Sam had given Winds the briefest of glances; completely ignored the uniform comment and looked back to where the unit and team were. He gave the signal to the rest to move forward as he said in a low voice over his shoulder to Winds "Good to see you to Winds; brought reinforcements."

They both watched the group start to move forward. Everyone came forward and took a knee or squatted down and busied themselves with preparing for the mission; removing packs, adjusting weapons, double checking ammo. Jules and Ed were removing the sniper rifles from their cases.

Satisfied everyone was hidden well enough for now he finally turned to Winds. Sam was about to ask Winds for the sit-rep when he registered Winds precarious physical state. Christ Winds looked ready to pass out. Sam clearly saw the signs of heat exhaustion bordering on heat stroke.

Urgently Sam asked "Status?" as he placed a hand on Winds forehead. It was only there for a second before Winds knocked it away. It was enough time to warm Sam's hand significantly. Winds was in a bad way.

Winds responded "Clean through, bleeding stopped. Got water?"

Sam recognized Winds avoided his complete status and ordered firmly "Winds health status now."

Patch had trained them all to give at least some information. But Winds always downplayed his injuries and avoided giving his full status. The only way he would ever consent to Patch's ministrations was a direct order from Blaze or if he was already out cold.

As Mason approached he heard the exchange between them so handed Winds a bottle of water. Speaking in the same low voice he said "You look like crap buddy."

Winds glared at him.

Mason called out softly "Pawn."

Russ looked over at the call for Pawn. Both he and Pawn headed to Winds. Pawn seeing the situation quickly pulled out his medic pack. Winds glared at both Blondie and Mason as Pawn did a brief assessment of his condition.

Pawn looked to Mason and Blondie "He's down, needs care soon but I can start an IV for fluids now to stabilize things."

Winds protested in an irritated voice "I'm okay. I can handle this. Just need a bit of water."

Sam and Mason shared a look then both snorted and commanded quietly at the same time "Stand down now, that's an order."

Damn they knew Winds so well Russ thought and could not stop the small smile. Blaze would read Winds the riot act for trying to dismiss his current tenuous state.

Russ crouched down next to Mason and looking at Winds said "Man you are beet red and bone dry. I can feel the radiated heat from you all the way over here. You haven't moved since we arrived. Bet you can't even stand without being dizzy and passing out. You don't want to pull a 'Blondie' do you?"

Sam scowled at Winds. How the hell did Russ know about that? He wasn't even with the unit then and that was so long ago. He looked between Mason and Winds then grumbled out softly "Damn you both. You just can't let me live that one down can you?" Sam heard Ed snickering behind him.

Winds, Russ and Mason all laughed quietly "Never."

Sam needed to change the subject and get the information "Pawn proceed. Sit-rep Winds."

Winds then launched into the information as Pawn worked. Pawn removed Winds' jacket as Winds explained how he obtained the information. Sam handed Winds the PDA with the blueprints to point out Daphne's and Ben's probable locations as Pawn inserted the IV in his hand.

Pawn took Winds' temperature and instantly opened several bottles of water. Winds sputtered and glared at Pawn when Pawn poured the water from the bottles over his head, chest, back and down his arms and legs; completely dousing him.

Winds groused "Come on man, just wait a moment will ya."

Pawn's tone brooked no defiance "No. Your temp is too high. You talk, I work."

Winds literally growled at him and glowered for a moment. Pawn did not back down.

Switching his gaze to Blondie, Winds looked for support but Blondie just shook his head slightly and instructed both of them "Continue."

Reluctantly submitting to Pawn's care again Winds described Bandar's scarred face so they would know him and treat him as a friendly if they encountered him. Pawn made Winds lay down again and applied instant ice packs to his armpits, groin, back and neck. Pawn's check all his vitals as Winds reported how Mousa killed his men and that Bandar thought he was planning to do it today after he got information from Daphy.

Sam stopped him a moment "Hold a moment." He turned and found Spike "Hey Spike, got your bomb kit?"

Spike smiled and replied patting his pack "Right here." He was so glad he had remembered it. He would have hated to run two more miles in this heat to go back and retrieve it. Spike set both packs on the ground and dug in his tech bag. They didn't use them all the time but he thought it would be a good idea to use them today. He needed to find them.

Sam nodded in acknowledgement then wondered just what the heck Spike was digging for. He was glad to see Spike had not withdrawn and had actually smiled when he asked about the bomb pack. Angus' conversation with Spike earlier today might have helped a bit.

He hoped they didn't need it today. If they did he would have to bring Spike into play in the warehouse because Mason's bomb expert was Pirate and he was guarding Blaze's unit. Sam really didn't want to have to do that.

Sam pushed that thought from his mind and turned back to Winds indicating for him to continue. Pawn was applying a new pressure bandage as Winds was finishing his report out. The only thing left to provide was a description of Mousa.

Winds said "Bandar described Mousa as short, maybe five five or five six and heavy set. He is olive skinned and has brown eyes. He is bald but always wears a black cap. He has a full long beard that is black and streaked heavily with gray. He wears round silver framed glasses. He is older maybe fifty to sixty years old. Today Mousa was wearing a short pale yellow tunic over black pants."

When he was done giving his information Winds was completely wiped out.

Without saying anything Jules handed Winds two power bars and a sports drink from her pack.

Winds just looked at the bars and drink then at Jules a little shocked and very touched by her kindness. He smiled and mouthed thanks and took them.

Jules nearly laughed as she watched him eat, two bites is all it took for him to down a single bar. It reminded her so much of how Sam ate. These men were tough but even they had physical limits.

Sam watched the interaction and grinned. Jules was kindhearted. She recognized a need and helped, that was one of the reasons she was so good at negotiations. Her intuition had saved so many people he had thought were beyond help. She talked them down. He was going to miss that. Hell he was going to miss all of them.

His mind drifted a bit to what he was losing, it hurt so much. Crap it was hard to keep his mind focused. It kept shifting from one world to another. Every time he thought his was firmly in the soldier world some little thing pulled him back to SRU world. Both worlds were about protecting people but the methods to achieve that were vastly different.

Mason was watching the conflicted and unfocused interplay in Blondie's eyes. Damn the kid was so FINE today but putting up a valiant effort to push it aside and stay on task. He had promised to support him today.

He was watching carefully to intercede when and if necessary. So Mason cleared his throat lightly to get Sam's attention. Sam looked at him and Mason said "So the plan?"

A curt nod to Mason acknowledge that Sam appreciated the help just given and Sam quickly shook off the other thoughts. He launched into a review of the plan. They made adjustments based on the new intel. Now they would split and go into both buildings at once. One rookie was partnered with one experienced unit member. Two pairs would take the command build and one pair would go into the supply building.

Sam and Apollo were Alpha and would take the basement of the command building then the tunnel between. Mason and Pawn were Bravo and would take the supply building and meet Blondie in the basement of that building. Russ and Cameo were Charlie and would take the first and second floor of the command building.

Based on the intel, they now only needed single sniper position that Jules would occupy. She would cover the second floor window of the command building. The perimeter positions were adjusted slightly now that Ed was no longer needed as a sniper.

Sam then looked at Winds on the ground. He pulled out an extra k-bar knife, a Glock and three extra clips from his pack then hand them to him. Winds accepted them with a nod. It was highly unlikely anyone would break the perimeter and even in this state Winds was fairly capable of protecting himself. He could just find a hiding place until this was over. But Sam was still a little uncomfortable leaving him alone like this given what he had read about this cell.

As he stood he looked at the team and his eyes landed on Leah. A thought struck him. He could effectively bench her and reduce the probability of her having to take another life today without making her feel bad about it. It would serve two purposes. But Winds would be thoroughly pissed at him for doing this.

Sam turned to Leah "I need you to stay and provide cover for Winds in case anyone breaks the perimeter. He is in no condition to protect himself."

Leah nodded accepting the assignment without complaint. She could see Winds' state and it would not be good to leave him helpless unable to fend for himself.

Winds glared at Blondie's back. Like hell he was in no condition to protect himself. He was about to ream Blondie for that comment when he saw the reactions on Greg's and Ed's faces. He could clearly read they liked the suggestion.

Then Blondie turned around to him and covertly gave him one of his lopsided smiles and a quick wink. Crap the kid had an ulterior motive. No idea what but he shut up and went with it.

Greg and Ed smiled. They knew exactly what Sam had just done and were in full agreement.

Ed and Sam conferred once more on the change in perimeter coverage. The plan was finally set when Sam gave an instruction to the unit guys solely for the rooks benefit "Fast and silent. Keep it quiet for as long as you can. Our mission priority is to secure and rescue Ben and Daphne."

All of the unit guys placed a hand on their k-bar knife to ensure it was in proper position. They all knew that fast and silent meant slit throats and snapped necks. Not to fire their weapon unless absolutely necessary. They each prepared mentally in their own way to kill in such a manner.

The hand motions were not lost on the team. They all understood now why Sam did not want them in the warehouse. They were going in to kill not take into custody.

But then Sam shocked everyone. He opened the riot pack that was filled with plastic handcuffs and several rolls of duct tape among other items. He handed the cuffs and tape out to each unit member. "Subdue and take alive whenever possible. But do not risk yourself; you are still authorized for lethal force if necessary."

Team One was not aware of JTF2 protocols but even they sensed something was off with the order by the looks on the unit guys faces. Ed realized Sam was struggling between worlds. He was about to pull him aside for a moment when Apollo asked a question.

Although a rookie fresh out of training Apollo knew this was strange protocol when dealing with terrorists. Without thinking he rashly questioned the order and asked "But they are targets, why alive?"

Sam kept his head down rummaging through the riot pack, deliberately not making eye contact but said authoritatively and harshly "Need to know basis."

He knew it was a very sharp bend of protocol, as close to a full break as you could come, and only implied to the unit he was under orders to do it this way by pulling the need to know card. But in fact that was not the case. The true reason was that SRU had changed him. Sam just didn't think he could kill any more if had a small chance to take someone alive.

Apollo's hackles rose a bit at the harsh tone. But then he realized his serious mistake. Crap, he had questioned an order, double crap he had questioned an order from the General's son.

He was lucky it was only a harsh tone he got for questioning the order. Shit he really, really needed to control himself better or he was going to kill his career in the military before it even got started. So Apollo quickly nodded and accepted the answer without further issue.

Mason and Winds stared at Blondie, why the hell was he ordering them not to take out all the targets? This was _NOT_ mission protocol for a terrorist cell. Something was not right they could tell by the way Blondie did not look at Apollo even if his tone was commanding. They were concerned but for different reasons.

Mason knew Blondie was fine. This was a clear indication just how fine he was and that his mind was very conflicted. Could he really do his job? That is the Army version of the job or was his mind in the SRU world?

It would be dangerous for Blondie to be in straddling both worlds going in there. It was a distraction Blondie could not afford. Shit he had promised Ed they had his back. Should he tell Ed? Those two seemed to have a connection. Maybe Ed could help Blondie get his head on straight so he didn't get himself killed.

Winds knew that it was not normal protocol. No one above Blondie would ever order a different protocol for terrorists. That would never happen. Blondie knew protocol and he always followed protocol even when he didn't like it. So what the hell was going on in his head? Winds line of thinking was interrupted by another path when he realized Blondie had completely ignored his comment about uniform before and offered no explanation.

Then it also struck him, why the hell was Blondie giving orders and not Mason? Why the hell was he in uniform? Crap this heat had thrown him way off his game to have not recognized this sooner. Blondie was like a son to Blaze and Blaze would kill him if he let anything happen to Blondie, heat stroke or no. He needed talk to Mason now.

Winds motioned for Mason to come close just as Sam asked "Ready?" Winds almost said hold but Spike piped up.

Spike said "Not quite" and opened a box with small devices. "Thought today would be a good day to tag everyone with transponders. That way, if we need to we can locate everyone."

Sam realized this is what Spike had been digging for in the tech pack.

Ed smiled and slapped Spike's back "Good idea. Tag us up."

Sam bristled, so many delays heading out. But he agreed it was a good idea but added "Do it quickly." Spike nodded and started with Sam.

Thank goodness for small favors. Winds took this opportunity to talk to Mason. Mason bent down to Winds and both could see the concern in the other's face. Winds whispered so no one could overhear "Why is Blondie in uniform and in charge?"

Mason said very quickly in a barely audible voice "Ben."

Winds understood. Blondie would do anything for Matt's boy. Serious concern and slight fear laced Winds words as he asked "What did Blondie do?"

Mason gave a small side glance to see if Blondie was listening. No he and Spike were busy with the transponders and he was focused there so he answered quietly "Voluntary Full Active Duty Reactivated."

Winds eyes widened and he stifled a sharp intake of breath and gave Mason a hard look "Blaze is gonna kill him."

Another side glance at Blondie, Mason responded "Yeah I know."

Winds asked quickly "How is he handling it? I mean that order to subdue, what's up with that? Where the hell is his head at? That's gonna get someone killed in there."

One more glance to ensure he was still engaged with Spike then on a soft sigh Mason said "Was okay until he saw a photo Qasim and blacked out. He's fine."

Winds couldn't stop this sharp intake of breath and soft words "Holy hell."

Wordy who was closest heard the intake of breath and faint words. He wondered what Mason had just told Winds. It really disconcerted Winds. Mason probably told him about the state of his unit. Wordy was concerned for all four of them and really wanted to know their condition; as he was sure everyone else did. But they were in the capable hands of doctors and there was nothing any of the team or unit could do for them; better that they focus on the job and get Daphne and Ben back.

Mason continued "Promised to support him but now I'm really worried. Wish I hadn't given my word. I so want to back out on it."

Winds gathered himself and glanced at Blondie "Who has his six?"

Mason replied "Apollo. Was going to have you team with him too but." Mason didn't need to say anymore verbally. Neither one liked the situation one damned bit.

Mason hadn't expected Winds to be down, was a bit naïve on his part, but Winds was hard to knock down so it hadn't entered his mind. But now given their resources and his commitment to support Blondie and Blondie's agreement with Ed not to put the team in the warehouse he had no other options. He had picked the best of his rooks to pair with Blondie and would have to trust Apollo to have Blondie's back.

Winds could read the worry and discontent in Mason's eyes. He also understood what was waiting for them in the building. Winds could not let Blondie go in with only a rook when he was fine. There was no way in hell that was happening. He may not be in charge of the mission but he sure as hell was the highest ranking unit member here.

He never thought the day would come that he cared about rank but here it was and he was gonna use it to its full advantage. He quickly scanned the gathered people. Blondie was now helping Spike tag Apollo, Pawn and Cameo. Winds gaze landed on Ed "Mason get Ed for me."

Mason looked at him sharply "Why?"

Winds ground out "Just do it quickly."

He eyed Winds closely another second trying to figure out what he was doing but then stood up. He took the fifteen paces to where Ed was standing with Greg and Jules then tapped him on the shoulder. "Winds needs a word with you" he said trying not to attract Blondie's attention.

Mason and Ed went to Winds and crouched down. Quick urgent under tone conversation took place between the three which was heard by no one else. When they finished speaking Ed was grim faced but nodded yes and shook Winds' hand.

Winds called out "Blondie."

Sam indicated one second while he wrapped up attaching Apollo's transponder then walked to Winds and squatted down "Yeah, what ya need buddy?" He looked at Winds and glanced at Mason and Ed too. Something was up he wasn't gonna like by the looks on all their face's.

Winds gave Blondie long assessing look then stated frankly in a voice of authority "Blondie, Ed is with you and Apollo."

Yep he didn't like this one bit. Sam went rigid and repressed the anger that surge upwards and said firmly "No."

"Yes" Winds replied in an authoritarian manner.

Sam looked to Mason and saw the guilty look. Damn he told them both he was fine. He looked back to Winds and said very quietly but belligerently "I can do my job. I don't need a babysitter."

Patting Blondie's knee Winds stated confidently even though he had major doubts "I know you can. But Ed is still going."

Sam was hacked off and said in a confrontive tone "You know what we have to do in there. I don't want Ed in there. I'm in charge of this mission." His plan to protect the team was falling apart.

Winds commanded loud enough for the others to hear "Master Corporal Braddock, I am senior rank here. Ed's going and that's an order." Everyone's attention centered on the four men.

Sam smoldered inside and the clamp he had on his emotions since finding Blaze bleeding to death on the floor of that damned kitchen broke entirely. He wanted to protect Ed from this, Ed was not a soldier. God damned Winds didn't he get that.

Rage at the entire situation he had been holding at bay all day exploded and flared in his eyes as Sam growled out "No fucking way. I refuse to let that happen. Ed will not go in..."

Winds and Mason were completely and utterly flabbergasted. Blondie was questioning, no he was refusing a direct order. Never in their lives would they have ever suspected he was even capable of doing so. He had never done that before even when he was fine. His head must be beyond screwed up right now. Winds knew he had to be hard-assed to penetrate Blondie's rage and hopefully get his head on straight. He needed the soldier to come out in full force.

So Winds interrupted his rant with steel toned, icy authority "Corporal are you refusing to comply with a direct order from a superior? If so, you will be physically restrained and removed from this mission."

Sam blinked at the question and statement. Holy crap he stunned himself. He was incredulous. He had actually questioned a direct order of a superior. Hell. Not only questioned but told a superior no fucking way and I refuse. This was the Army not SRU, you didn't do that, it had been deeply ingrained in him since he was six.

He placed his head in his hands and rubbed his face hard, shit he was more F.I.N.E. than he realized. He also understood in that instant that his time with SRU had irrevocably changed him. He would never make a good soldier again. How the hell was he going to do this and not get himself or others killed?

Holy hell he had ordered the men to subdue and take into custody. Just what the hell was he thinking? That could get them killed. In the time it would take to cuff and tape mouths someone could get the drop on them and they would be dead. The targets were cold blooded killers. They would not hesitate in the least to kill his men.

They had killed and injured so many unit men already. Mousa had personally killed hundreds. They had tried to kill Blaze and his men. They took Daphne and Ben with the intention to kill them. The image of Ben's face on the monitor seared his mind.

Sam needed that soldier persona to get through this. He needed his head on straight and to be in one world only. He dug deep, very, very deep and pulled on a mask of a detached soldier he didn't want to be but had to be.

It was his only hope to get through this. Sam had to kill all emotion in himself, lose himself in order to protect the others. This was the only mask he feared. It could consume him and take over. The last time he used it he almost did not come back. Thinking the mask was on tightly enough to cover the inner turmoil Sam lifted his head.

But the mask wasn't quite affixed and was still settling in place as Sam looked up at Winds, Mason and then Ed. They all read the intense conflict and sad acceptance in his ice blue eyes. Then saw when a switch was flipped as the mask completely settled. Winds, Mason and Ed shared a look; it was like he shut off. The lights went out of his eyes completely.

Sam stood and flatly said "Wilco" indicating to Winds that he heard and would comply with the order.

Then he walked to the riot pack and tossed the cuffs and tape into it. In the same flat emotionally detached tone he said "New orders, normal protocol, fast and silent only. Ed, Wordy reconfigure the perimeter coverage for the team." He walked a bit away from everyone and stared at the buildings and checked that his k-bar was positioned for easy retrieval and checked his Glock.

The unit guys were stunned by the change in orders but complied immediately and dropped the cuffs and tape back into the pack. Russ looked to Winds and gave him a 'what the hell just happened?' stare.

Winds just shook his head. Winds' and Mason's guts twisted. It hurt so bad to see Blondie go into the detached survival mode. They had seen that too damned often in Kandahar. Every time it got harder to pull him out of it.

This was not what he intended to happen, Winds was rebuking himself and the guilt was increasing. God dammit! If Blondie did not come out of this mode when this was over he knew eight people that would kill him, nine if he included himself in the list.

Ed compared the dead eyes and tone now to the night Sam had talked. He could tell Sam had shut down all emotion to cope. This was not good. Sure he would be able to do what he needed to do now, but the price might be just too high for Sam. He closed his eyes briefly as he sadly thought; even if they save Ben and Daphne and everyone comes out alive there just might not be a Sam left after this.

Greg, Jules, Wordy, Spike and even Leah were shocked by Sam's actions. They all saw the dead eyes and heard the unemotional tone. They wondered just what had happened in the span of a minute to change Sam so drastically but there was no time as Sam instructed everyone in a lifeless tone to turn on the headsets and asked if they were all ready.

Spike said "All set with the transponders. Sent the signal finder to everyone's PDAs just in case." Sam's tone and blank eyes worried Spike; something was wrong, very wrong. He wished he had time to ask about it now.

He tried to evoke a response from Sam by grinning widely and patting Sam's back and saying "Samtastic, go do what you do best, save people, go save Ben and Daphne."

Sam did not acknowledge Spike in any way, only said "Let's Go."

As Sam started to move toward the building, he tried very hard dismiss Spike's words and sever the connection to a life he wanted before he stepped fully into the nightmare of the one he no longer wanted.

A small corner of his mind whispered to him. Everything you love gets taken away from you. You can't live like this, it always hurts so much. It might be better if you don't make it out of the building alive.


	14. Ah My Favorite Plaything I've Missed You

**Ah My Favorite Plaything I've Missed You**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Sniper Perch_**

The team and unit held up and took a knee, concealed near the tree line. Jules and Sam determined the best location for the sniper perch. Jules slung her rappelling gear, Remi and kit over her shoulders. She placed one foot into Ed's cupped hands. He boosted her up to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

As she grasped the branch and hauled herself up onto it she was so glad that as a kid she climbed so many trees. She lithely began to climb to reach the right position. It was also a darned good thing she wasn't afraid of heights. She had to go very high. She needed to be able to scan the entire complex before the unit and team moved from the tree line to their positions.

Up, up, up she went. She finally reached the right height and latched her safety harness to a sturdy branch. She tested it to ensure it would hold her weight if she fell. Not that she planned to fall. Then she located another sturdy branch and attached the rappelling line in case she had to fast rappel for any reason.

Next she found a branch for the Remi and hooked it in too. Wouldn't due for it to fall either. She pulled out the range finder binoculars and clipped them to her vest. Then scanned the complex. "Sierra one in position. Scan shows no movement on the exteriors at all. Sam there are no guards outside like Winds indicated." She focused on the second floor window. "No one visible in the second floor either."

Sam said flatly "Scan again." It could be deadly if they were seen before entering.

Jules scanned the entire area again "Still no movement. No one at all visible on the exterior. The only side I cannot see is the south."

Since they were not approaching from the south Sam commanded "Move out".

Alpha unit headed to the east side of the command building. Bravo unit moved to the north entrance of the supply building. Charlie unit headed for the doors on the north of the command building. Spike took up a position on the east side, Wordy on the south side and Greg on the west side of the complex. Jules would monitor the second story room and the perimeter on the north side from her perch.

Each reported in quietly as they attained their positions.

When Sam heard all were in position he said "Go, go, go."

Each unit entered the buildings stealthily.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Command Building – Alpha Unit_**

Sam opened the door and Apollo then Ed entered followed by him. Apollo took point, Sam in the center and Ed at the rear. All had weapons drawn as they stealth walked to clear the entry area. Alpha unit would need to clear five rooms on the first floor on their way to the stairs leading to the basement.

The hallway was rather wide as would be expected for a factory office building. Apollo and Ed were on the right and Sam moved on the left. All were close to the walls. The lighting was dim with only a few working bulbs here and there. That actually was to their advantage. It provided dark spots for coverage.

They came to the first room. The door was missing. Apollo edged close to the opening, listened for noises then moved his head slightly to peer in. He motioned he would go left and Sam would go right, Ed guarded the door. They entered and scanned the small room. Empty. The layers of undisturbed dust indicated no one had been in this room in quite some time.

Exiting the room, they continued down the hall. The next room appeared to be an old break room. There were indications that this room was used. But it too was empty. They cleared rooms three and four as well. So far they had encountered no targets. Sam thought it was a bit odd with so many targets in the building to have not come across a single one so far.

As they approached the fifth room Sam indicated to Apollo and Ed to halt. Ed wondered why until Sam signaled he had heard a sound. Damn the kid's hearing was acute.

This was the room Bandar had indicated Daphne and Ben were locked in. But the door was ajar. Sam realized that they were likely no longer in the room. But they needed to verify and quietly determine who or what was in the room.

Sam edged to the door and crouched low. He moved so that he could see into the room without revealing too much of himself. There was one man. He was squatting on the floor with his back to them. He had just picked something up from the ground and stood but did not turn around. Sam indicated for Ed to stay and watch their backs. Sam slipped soundlessly into the room followed by Apollo.

He pulled his k-bar out of the sheath and crept up behind the man intent on slicing his throat. He was almost there when the man said in a soft pained voice "I'm so sorry Mattie. I did what I could but it wasn't enough."

Sam stilled instantly. He saw the man's head drop. Sam moved forward in a blink of an eye and had his knife to the man's throat at the jugular and his hand over the man's mouth. It would only take a slight bit of pressure and the man would be dead in seconds.

Apollo was shocked how fast and silent Sam had moved.

Sam growled out softly "Where is Ben?"

The man could not believe there was a knife at his throat. He had heard nothing, not a single sound before it was pressed against him. He stammered out "Ben? Who?"

Sam remembered that Ben said everyone called him Matt so he corrected "Where is Matt?"

"Gone, just gone" he said.

While Sam held the knife and spoke, Apollo had moved around to see the man's face then said quietly "What is your name?"

The man saw the uniform, help had arrived. Hopefully not too late. He replied "Bandar. Naseer Bandar."

Sam swung the man around so fast he wobbled before steadying himself. Sam still had the knife to his throat as he surveyed the man's face. He matched Winds' description.

Coldly Sam asked "What do you mean gone?"

Bandar looked at the soldier in front of him. Hard, ice cold blue eyes bored into him. There was not a single soft thing about the man in front of him. He was lethal. There was no life in those eyes. This man would give no quarter, he would kill effectively and efficiently and move on without a single thought.

This soldier scared him more than Mousa ever did. Bandar clutched the stuffed toy tightly and stammered out "Mousa took them. Split them up. They were gone when I got here."

Sam saw the man quaking and could tell his hands were wringing themselves on something but he held his gaze on the man's face "Where did he take them?"

Bandar had never shaken in fear in his life until now. His voice cracked ever so slightly as he said "I'm sure he took her to the tarp room. He set up a monitor in there so she could watch. The boy, I think maybe to the basement, but I cannot be sure." His hands shook so badly he dropped the toy.

Sam saw something drop and stepped back quickly unsure what it was, it could be an IED or grenade. But when it hit the ground it made only a quiet whuffed sound like something soft and fluffy. His military mind was ready to react to anything.

Anything that is except for a small stuffed Donald Duck toy that had seen better days. A jagged spear of pain penetrated and lacerated Sam's heart as he stared at the toy.

Everyone on the headsets was listening closely to the conversation and heard the sharp intake of breath followed by soft strangled moan of pain. It sounded to everyone like someone had been hurt but most had no clue who.

Greg's ingrained leadership role immediately superimposed itself on his assisting role in this mission as he demanded calmly "Status." If someone was hurt Greg needed to know.

Ed had turned quickly to Sam when he heard the sounds. His eyes landed on the toy. Oh shit. As he strode to Sam he commanded quietly "Apollo door. Boss, Alpha no harm. Russ, Daphne likely in the north second story room. Ben still unknown."

Apollo quickly complied but was perplexed by what was happening with Blondie. Why did a toy affect him so? No harms were heard from Bravo and Charlie and all the team too. Ed knew his 'no harm' call out was not exactly right but there was no physical harm, only emotional. Ed bent to pick up the toy.

Sam's eyes followed the love-worn Donald Duck as it rose from the ground in Ed's hand. His hand snaked out and snatched it from Ed. Sam shoved it between his army jacket and his Kevlar vest on the upper left side. The tight pressure it caused on his chest acted like a compression bandage stemming the virtual bleeding of his heart. Ben. He needed to find Ben.

Bandar watched captivated by what was happening before his eyes. He was bewildered when the soldier's hard, lifeless eyes were infused with extreme pain and despair. Then he had stuffed the toy into his vest. Could this be the boy's father? No wait, Raashid said the father was dead. Whoever he was, Matt was important to him that much was VERY clear.

Ed was not shocked by Sam's reaction only very concerned. Winds had told him Sam was fine and he knew the role he played here today, keep Sam focused. Sam was riveted in place after taking the toy, not a muscle had moved. Ed was relieved to see fleeting emotion in his eyes even if it was unbearable pain because that meant Sam was still inside.

Knowing Sam needed to stay in one world and that for now it was dangerous to take him from soldier mode Ed used his call sign instead of his name "Blondie, we need to move."

Coming out of his stupor, Sam flicked a glance to Ed. He gave a curt nod. Sam then looked back to Bandar.

Bandar saw that the ice hard death stare was back with no hint of pain or other emotion and that was really disconcerting.

Sam said flatly "Bandar, leave through the east door. Get out now. This is not somewhere you want to be. Spike one friendly exiting; red shirt, blue pants."

Spike responded "Copy." Spike was more than concerned. He wanted to go in there so bad, he knew it was Sam that moaned. Sam was even more closed off then when he had joined the team several years ago. Christ they had treated him so badly back then. His hand reached down to his pocket again as he thought I hope Beauty is not needed today.

Sam hadn't needed it since the boat ride to Wanderlust Lodge. But it was a habit he never broke, he always carried beauty. Spike had been tempted to listen to it after Lou died wondering if it would help him but had refrained at the last minute. This was solely Sam's.

Bandar had considered protesting, wanting to help. But he could see he would be more hindrance than help. One look at the ice cold soldier and he was sure, as sure as the sun rose in the east and set in the west, that death was coming to all those that had taken or harmed the boy.

As he left the room, he looked at the one that had picked up the toy. Bandar said "Save him, please." The only response was a quick nod. As Bandar headed out he wondered why an SRU officer was with the Army Special Forces.

Ed thought on Bandar's simple statement. He knew who the 'him' was that Bandar referred to, Ben. But he thought, yes they would save Ben and yes he would save Sam. At least he would try his damnedest to do both.

As Alpha unit moved forward towards the stairwell Sam said resolutely "Alpha headed to basement."

Sam had allowed the mask to slip briefly and lose focus. He could not afford to do that again it was a distraction. Distraction caused this whole situation. Distractions got people killed.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Supply Building – Bravo Unit_**

Bravo unit moved in via the north door of the supply building. Mason and Pawn moved silently through the front office area. They were a little surprised to not have found any resistance so far. It was quiet, too quiet Mason thought. They had to clear four small front rooms, three large rooms and the shipping dock.

The last area they would clear before heading to the basement was the shipping dock which was on the south wall. At least there was access to the basement from the shipping dock. They would not have to backtrack. The warehouse was huge. It would take time with just the two of them.

They were in the second room when they had heard the intake of air and moan over the headset. Mason knew without a doubt who it was but not what had prompted it. He hoped Ed was able to handle it. He had been surprised when Winds ordered Blondie to take Ed but wholeheartedly agreed after their quick discussion.

Mason had been shocked to find out that Ed had listened to Blondie's full recitation of his torture. Ed had a stronger stomach then he did. He had to leave once Blondie got to the needles. In their unit only Matt had been able to handle the full story and helped Blondie through it. He still didn't know all and never wanted to either.

He had relaxed slightly when he heard Blondie tell Bandar to leave. His voice was still flat but firm and steady. Whatever had happened he believed Blondie was still in soldier mode. Speaking of which, he needed to get his own mind back in the game. Lack of focus killed in this line of work. He motioned Pawn to move out to the third room.

Just ten paces outside the second room they saw six men exit the fourth room laughing. The men were armed heavily, each carrying M4 CQBRs with multiple clips, hand guns and knives. Pawn and Mason flattened themselves against the wall in a darken area. Mason was glad the men did not see them and headed away from them to the larger section of the warehouse. Six was too many to engage silently, especially armed that way.

He wanted to give them all more time to locate Daphne and Ben before gunfire erupted. So they waited until the men turned the corner then stepped away from the wall and approached the third room. Just as they reached the doorway two men exited the third room. Mason and Pawn pulled their k-bars out and each dispatched one man then dragged them into the third room.

Upon entering there was a third man in a chair. Mason and the man saw each other at the same time. The man grabbed for his gun and while his was raising it to fire, Mason threw his k-bar. It was a direct hit to the throat. He had dropped the gun and was clutching his throat around the knife that was embedded to the hilt. Pawn was closer so he swiftly went to the man. He withdrew the knife and finished the man with a quick flick of the knife. Pawn bent down and wiped the blood off the knife on the man's shirt.

Mason strode over and quickly assessed Pawn. This was his first kill with the unit, actually first two. He knew unit medics often had a difficult time with the killing seeing that they were trained in preserving life. Pawn looked up to him and met his inquisitive look squarely.

Inwardly Mason sighed with relief. It was never easy but it was necessary for a soldier to kill. The look in Pawn's eyes told him he was okay. Mason liked this kid. He may be small in stature but definitely not someone to mess with. Christ he didn't even blink in dealing with Winds intimidation earlier. Pawn reminded him in someways of Ripsaw.

Pawn handed him his knife.

Mason grinned, nodded and softly hit Pawn's shoulder with his open hand. But Mason's softly still unbalance Pawn causing him to take a step or two to maintain his balance.

Pawn looked at his bear sized Sergeant who stood over a foot taller and had nearly a hundred pounds on him. He smiled thinking to himself 'remember to never get him mad, his hands are the size of bear claws and just as deadly'.

Bending down, Pawn then wiped his own knife off on the man's shirt.

Mason reported softly "Three targets down, six heavy targets heading to warehouse unaware, holding off engaging. Bravo moving to fourth room."

Then they proceeded to the fourth room.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Command Building – Charlie Unit_**

Russ and Cameo were almost finished clearing the first floor of the command building. They had to clear it before heading up to the second floor even though Russ had wanted to go directly there after Ed's status. They had to follow protocol. Only one more room to clear before heading to the second level to the tarp room that Ed had indicated.

They had just heard Mason call out target status. It was important for them to keep mental note of the number of targets. It was strange that they had not encountered any targets.

With forty or more in the building it was so far off the statistical odds. He had expected at least a few on the first floor. Stealthily Russ and Cameo entered the last room and again found no targets.

Russ gave status "First floor cleared, no targets. Charlie moving to second floor via west stairs."

He then double checked the blueprints. The stairs they were using would be close to the tarp room. Exit left would take them to the open factory area. Exit right would take them to the tarp room. Russ decided to exit right and go directly to the tarp room.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Tarp Room_**

Twenty minutes ago Daphne had been pushed into a chair and held tightly as her hands were bound with duct tape behind her around the chair. Then her ankles were taped to the legs of the chair. It had taken five men to secure her. Many of them now sported bruises from her elbows, knees and feet as she had lashed out at them.

Mousa had sat calming watching the spectacle, the cruel smile never leaving his face. Syed had then turned on the large color monitor on the table about five feet in front of Daphne. It showed a section of a large room. Daphne noticed that it had a steel table about five feet long and three feet wide near a wall.

Her stomach had dropped seeing that empty table. It rolled over a billion times when she saw an evil looking man enter the room. He began unpacking items from his bag. He took out four lengths of rope and tied one to the leg at each corner. Then he took out a small gas burner and set it up. He turned the flame on and off several times.

Lastly, he pulled out a hand full of very long thin needles. He fiddled around with the needles, holding them over the flame until they were red hot. Daphne heard sick laughter emitted from the man as the needles heated up.

The evil man turned and directly looked at the camera. "Almost set. I'm so glad you decided to give me the boy. It will be so much fun."

Mousa had observed Daphne go completely pale as she watched Qasim slowly set things up for the past ten minutes. He had instructed Qasim to deliberately take his time so Daphne would be drawn in and frightened about what was going to happen to her boy.

He had looked blandly at her and said "So Daphne, if you tell me what I need to know you can spare the boy a very painful death."

Daphne had passed out stone cold. She did not want to but the overwhelming terror for her little boy had swallowed her whole and pulled her deep into the blackness.

When blackness finally released her, Daphne's eyes snapped open and looked at the monitor. She knew how much time had passed because the monitor had a large clock on it. It had been ten minutes. She breathed in little short gasps when she saw Ben sitting on the table talking to the man and drinking water.

His hands and feet had been unbound. The man was talking to Ben in a cooing voice. It was so disconnected from what she had seen earlier. Jeckle and Hyde came to mind.

She glanced around the room. There were nine men besides Mousa. If only she could get out of the tape.

Mousa walked up to her "Nice of you to join us again. Now about my information; who are you working for? Who is your accomplice? There is no way you could have worked alone all these years."

Daphne knew no matter what she said both she and Ben were going to die today. Mousa was going to make her watch as Ben was tortured and killed. She screamed at the top of her lungs. She tried to lunge herself at the sadistic, putrid, inhuman, cold-blooded bastard. She ended up on the floor still taped to the over-turned chair.

Mousa looked at her on the floor "My, my, such a hellion. Too bad it won't do you any good. Now tell me what I want to know."

Daphne raged at him and her choice of words would make a sailor blush. Mousa just laughed and signaled his men to pick her and the chair up and place it on the tarp.

It might take some time but he would wear her down and get the information he needed. His phone rang "Yes."

 _[Things are almost set. Any further instructions?" Yassin asked.]_

"Get the second remote from Qasim. This is gonna take some time. Slight change in plans. Take care of things there then bring me one of the remotes."

 _["As you wish." Yassin knew exactly what Mousa's order meant, he smiled. He did enjoy this part. It made up for having to deal with their insipid stupidity for so many months. Well not quite all were stupid._

 _He now had six new mid-levels that Mousa agreed could come with them this time. They had the right mindset as far as he was concerned. They did this for money and money alone. All the religious fervor was just a way to recruit idiot zealots that could be manipulated.]_

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Sniper Perch_**

Jules had alternated between checking the perimeter and the window for movement; none in either. She had wondered what had caused Sam to draw breath and moan. She knew all the teams' voices, but his, she knew his voice intimately. All it took was the slightest sound and she knew it was him.

It physically hurt to see Sam shut down so completely. It had shocked her. She knew he was fine now, there was absolutely no question about it. She was sure the rest of the team, well maybe not Leah, but surely all the guys also knew that Sam was fine. But what caused it? She knew he was having difficulty with Ben being taken but she was sure that was not enough to cause his current state of mind.

Jules reviewed the day so far. It had been one heck of an up and down emotional one for Sam. She pinpointed when the change had occurred. It wasn't when Winds ordered Ed to go with him. Something he had seen in that top secret file was the cause. She was sure of it but had no clue what it was.

She silently vowed that she would do everything in her power to help him return to good. Someday she wanted to see him make it to great. If anyone ever deserved to make it to great is was Sam.

As she was thinking she had been scanning the perimeter. Everything checked out, still no guards or movement. Jules switched back to the window. Several people had just moved into view.

She informed everyone "Confirmation, Daphne in the tarp room. She is bound to a chair. I see five subjects. Wait, no six subjects. There may be more, do not have a full view of the room. Mousa is in the tarp room. Confirmed Mousa is in the tarp room. I have the solution."

Jules was unsure if she was to fire. She could neutralize Mousa but that left at least five other armed men in the room with Daphne and she couldn't deal with all of them before they could harm Daphne. She also did not have full view of the room, there may be more than the ones she saw. Jules waited for direction.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Command Building – Alpha Unit_**

Sam said "Hold for now. Russ is on his way. Scorpio granted if needed though." Sam thought Daphy located, now to find and get Ben. Jules acknowledged his order with a 'copy that'.

Ed, Sam and Apollo had cleared six of the ten rooms in the basement. No targets encountered. They entered the seventh room. It was large and open and spanned nearly three quarters of the building one way and the entire length the other. There were three support pillars spaced out evenly across the middle of the room.

As they checked around the room Sam's eyes landed on a small box near the base of the middle column. He'd seen these before several times in Kandahar, they were distinctive. He knelt for a closer look. Sam's mind flicked back to what he read about. He knew it was his handy work. His mask slipped a little again for two reasons.

One caused a slight shiver that he forcefully stopped before it got ahold of him; did that mean he was here now? The second and more pressing reason that flooded his mind was that he now needed to bring Spike in. Crap, Ed was already in here. Now he had had no choice but to bring Spike in. Was Spike ready for this? His plan to protect the team was totally fucked.

Today couldn't get any worse he thought. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he directed "Ed, Apollo check the other pillars for boxes that look like this one."

After a few moments "One here" Ed said.

"Same here" Apollo responded and reached out to touch it.

Sam saw Apollo's action and commanded harshly "Don't touch it. They have pressure sensors."

Apollo quickly pulled back his hand. Shit a bomb. No three bombs. It didn't look like any bomb he had ever seen; very unique.

Sam called out "Spike, sorry buddy but I'm gonna need you in here. Got three bombs."

He heard the gasps from several people. He could not tell if one of them was Spike. He hoped not. He needed him feeling confident. These were nasty, complex bombs. Sam looked to Apollo "Spike wait for Apollo at the east entrance he can show you the way."

Spike responded confidently and firmly "No need, I know exactly where you are. On my way."

Sam had forgotten about the transponders. "Spike go careful, was cleared but …"

Spike interrupted "Copy that, buddy." Spike leveled his MP5 as he entered the building.

Sam said "Russ we need Daphne out now. These can be triggered by remote."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Supply Building_**

Qasim cooed "Is that better. Those men are mean aren't they?"

Ben was sitting on a metal table. He didn't like this man even though he took the tape off. The weird looking man had just cut the tape off his hands and feet. But he wasn't careful and cut his leg. It hurt. He wanted his mommy; she would make it feel better. But the mean men took her away. Ben sat very still and did not say anything.

The weird man held out a bottle of water. He was thirsty so he took it. The man wiped the tiny bit of blood away from his leg and said "I'm sorry I nicked you. Drink."

Ben took a big drink. But it tasted funny, icky.

"More" the man said.

Ben shook his head no.

The man cajoled "You need to drink. It is hot out. Your mommy would want you to drink more."

Ben shook his head no again. "Mommy, I want my mommy" Ben cried.

"Your mommy will be here soon. The three of us are going to leave this place together. You want to leave don't you?" He cooed again.

Ben nodded yes.

"Then drink, it has stuff in it to make you strong so you can protect your mommy. We are supposed to protect mommies. Right?" Qasim asked.

Qasim had heard the little boy in the room. He would use this against him. Earn his trust then break it. The desolated looks in his plaything's eyes when that happened always felt so exhilarating.

Ben nodded yes. He took little drink. He wanted to protect mommy but this tasted so icky.

"That's right, keep taking small sips" Qasim urged.

As the boy sipped he thought back to his absolute favorite plaything, the blue eyed, blonde soldier. He never quite knew how the blonde endured so long. Most died so quickly and only broke once. But he was still alive after three months and Qasim got to break him over and over again. God that had been so much fun.

He was beyond pissed when the soldiers snuck in and took his favorite plaything away from him. He had left to do a job for Mousa and when he returned his blonde soldier was gone. He had killed the men that were on duty that day. Well at least the few that were still alive and had not run off. The soldiers had so many of them when they took his favorite plaything away.

Moving back to more pleasant thoughts Qasim remembered every detail of what he had done with his plaything. He never tired of seeing those blue eyes looking at him with desperation, begging someone to care even a little for him. He smiled thinking back on how many times he had gotten the blonde to trust him. Then he giggled when he recalled the wrecked, shattered and destroyed look that had entered the blonde's eyes when he started in with the hot needles.

Qasim could not help himself as the full memory of how much he had enjoyed all he had done surged into his mind, he laughed malevolently. God he so missed the good times with his favorite plaything.

Ben pulled away from the man when he laughed. It was not a nice laugh. He dropped the water bottle and the contents spilled on the ground. His eyes started to blink. He was a little sleepy and his tummy felt weird. He lay down on the table and said "I want Mommy. I feel icky."

Qasim smiled, the boy was quiet and malleable for now, the fun would come soon.

Yassin walked down the south stairs into the room "Qasim, I need the second remote detonator. Mousa wants me to get it before I start upstairs."

He looked at his plaything on the steel table. Qasim had never had one so young to play with before, he was excited to start. He hated to leave to get the detonator. But he knew not to cross Mousa.

Qasim grumbled "Watch him, I'll be right back. Left it in the other basement." He grabbed a needle off the table and twirled it in and a round his fingers of one hand as he headed out of the room.

When the weird man left, Ben crawled off the table. He curled up in a tight ball near the wall trying to hide. Ben didn't like that man at all. The man acted nice but he wasn't, he had a mean laugh. Ben's eyes blinked several times. He was so tired. He closed his eyes as a drug induced sleep overtook him.

Yassin just watched the boy. Some things Mousa did he didn't like but he paid him so well he just turned a blind, indifferent eye. This would be one of those times. Qasim was a sick son of a bitch but he had better hurry up. Yassin had to take care of the low levels upstairs soon. His six mid-levels had already gathered most of them in the shipping docks.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Command Building – Alpha Unit_**

Spike called out quietly "Almost there." He had been glad he hadn't encountered any of the terrorists on his way down. He entered the room and saw Sam kneeling near the center pillar. "Where's Ed and Apollo?"

Sam looked up "One man down range, they are clearing the remaining rooms down here looking for Ben. If they don't find him then they will meet me at the tunnel entrance."

Spike knelt and took off his pack and opened it. "You said they had pressure sensors. How do you know?"

Sam wondered what he could legally share given the situation "Saw them over there and read about them."

Then Sam shared what he had read about this type of bomb and some of the trademark counter-measures the bomb maker normally used. "One last thing, this guy's MO sometimes includes multi-tapping the timers." Sam then explained what he meant by that.

"Wow that is sophisticated. I'll watch for that. Okay off you go buddy. One man down range" Spike said after he had listened intently to everything Sam had to share about these bombs.

Spike watched Sam go for a moment. He had not liked in the least the expressionless way Sam had spoken the entire time. He saw a bulge in left side of his vest and something that looked like a duck foot sticking out. But he said nothing about it.

He turned his attention to the bomb in front of him. This would be a challenge. There was nothing simple about these.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside Tarp Room – Charlie Unit_**

Russ and Cameo made their way rapidly but quietly to the second floor. Russ was glad they did not find any targets in the stairwell. He wanted to get to that room now.

Bittersweet images of Daphne laughing as she called Blaze Donald entered his mind. He needed to save Daphne for Blaze. He hoped Blaze and the rest of the unit made it. He was the only one left standing.

That really, really sucked. Crap, he needed to focus in order to get Daphne out alive. He would gladly give his life for hers. Russ blew out a long silent breath to clear his mind and refocused.

The door to the tarp room was ajar. Russ peeked in from the side of the door. No one was looking this way so he signaled for Cameo to dart to the other side of the door. He took another look in. He counted eleven in the room including Daphne. Too many for just two men to take out without risking Daphne.

He signaled to Cameo to stay as he backtracked to the stairs. "Blondie, ten targets."

Sam was waiting at the entrance of the tunnel for Ed and Apollo to join him. "Roger. Jules how many in your view?"

Jules responded "See four now. They keep moving around the room. Mousa not in view anymore."

Ed and Apollo approached after clearing the remaining room. Sam noted that they had not found Ben as he said "Apollo, need you with Russ."

Apollo nodded and set off smooth and fast. He was happy, action finally. Time to take out some cold blooded terrorists.

Sam continued "Russ, Apollo on the way. Hold until he arrives. Give Jules the signal when you go in. She can help with those near the window. Four for ten should be sufficient."

His mask slipped again as concern for Jules entered his head. He hoped Jules did not have to take more than one or two. It would be tough on her to kill this way, deliberately without even trying to talk them down.

Sam reminded himself, there is no talking down terrorists, especially this cell. He pushed the feelings down again. He couldn't afford feeling, dammit the mask just wouldn't stay in place.

Russ said "Roger" and moved back to the door to the tarp room to await Apollo.

Jules said "Copy" and lined up a shot. This was different she thought. She would be shooting to kill without an eminent threat to a hostage. She wondered if she could do this.

Then her scope landed on Daphne. Her face was a mess. Battered and bruised. She could see dried blood. This was not a normal hostage situation, these were terrorists bent on killing innocents without compunction. She focused on sniper breathing, slowing her heart beat so her shots would be true.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Command Building_**

Spike was working on the second bomb now. The counter measures were interesting Spike thought. He had frozen for a bit when he worked on the first one. Images of Lou filled his head. His hands shook and he had to close his eyes and take several deep breaths to calm himself.

He had been dreading the day he would have to tackle a bomb again. Now he had three and they were complex. Spike stopped his work on the second bomb for a moment and adjusted the black band on his wrist. The pain was still so raw. The guilt that he could not save Lou ate at his soul. He brushed a finger over Lou's name. He missed him so much. They were like brothers.

Then he thought about what Sam was going through today. Sam had helped him so much in the past few months. There were times he had just wanted to die and Sam pulled him through. He had gone out of his way on numerous times to make sure he was okay. He even stopped him from quitting SRU. And, hell Sam even acted like a total fool this morning just to bring him out of his melancholy.

Spike looked at the black and gold band and focused on Lou's name a moment. Help me Lou, Spike said silently. In his mind he heard Lou's calm smooth voice 'you got this bro'. He steeled himself and got back to work. He had lost one brother. He was going to do everything in his power not to lose another.

That meant he needed to defuse these bombs before they were a threat to Daphne and the unit men above. He sighed as he completed the second one. On to the third, Spike called out "Two down one to go."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Supply Building – Bravo Unit_**

Mason and Pawn had cleared all the rooms except the shipping dock. They had to backtrack a bit to get to the entrance of that room. Mason wished that Pirate was here. He could have helped. He hoped Spike could defuse them all before any when off. He had heard Sam's explanations of the bombs. Spike must be damned good if two were defused already.

He and Pawn were now near the huge triple wide doors leading into the shipping dock. He was seriously wondering where all the targets were. It was definitely unsettling. They entered the room and saw that it was sectioned off. Not a clear view to the whole room. They cleared the first section.

They positioned themselves to peer into the second section. The sight that met his eyes explained why the targets were missing.

Mason reported "Twenty targets kneeling on the floor of the shipping room facing east in prayer I think. All unarmed. Six targets armed with M4 CQBRs standing guard. Blondie, will hold."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Tunnel – Alpha Unit_**

Sam responded "Roger. If we can extract Daphne and find Ben before we engage it will be better."

Mason agreed.

Ed and Sam were half way down the tunnel. The lighting was spotty in the tunnel. There were long stretches of darkness broken up by small splotches of bright light.

They were moving silently near the wall with Sam at point and Ed behind. Near the end of a dark area Sam pulled up and indicated to Ed to stop.

Ed stopped about twenty paces behind.

Sam had heard a sound of someone coming from the opposite direction. Sam crouched low and Ed followed suit. He was waiting for whoever it was to enter the light.

Qasim was still fiddling with the needle as he walked. He dropped it just before he entered a lighted space. It rolled into the light. He stopped to pick it up.

Sam heard a slight pinging sound like a dropped pin or needle. That thought sent shivers up his spine. An image of Qasim came into his head. His body began to shake.

The bombs had put this back into his head. Now this sound, hell it probably wasn't even a needle. He was so F.I.N.E. with major emphasis on F that his mind must have conjured the sound. Dammit, he needed to keep his head straight. He could not afford to think about that now.

Ed saw Sam begin to tremble. He wondered what was up. He could not speak and give away their position. When they had stopped Ed had heard the footfalls up ahead.

Then Sam saw the needle roll into the light. Holy hell it was a needle. A long and thin needle. One just exactly like all those years ago. The vibrations in his body increased tenfold.

Ed saw the violent shaking of Sam's body and started to move forward.

Qasim stepped into the light with his head down looking at the needle. As he bent over to pick it up he saw someone just outside the light ring. He squinted trying to see who it was. He stood and said "Who's there?"

Sam's body went rigid at the sound of the voice.

Ed noticed the change, no more shaking. Sam's muscles were as taut as an over coiled spring.

Sam stood and stepped into the light.

Qasim instantly recognized Sam. "Ah my favorite plaything, I've missed you" he laughed as he quickly pulled his knife.

An ear shattering, savage, animalistic howl roared from Sam's throat.

Sam launched himself at the sadistic bastard who had tortured him.

Sam slammed into Qasim.

Both hit the ground.

Qasim's knife deeply penetrated Sam's side.

Sam felt no pain.

Adrenaline surged.

Sam pummeled Qasim's face.

Qasim ripped the knife from Sam's side.

Qasim plunged the knife into Sam's arm.

Feral, guttural growls erupted from Sam.

Sam's vise grip strangled Qasim.

Qasim clawed at Sam's hands.

Qasim bucked violently and twisted away.

Sam hit the ground hard.

The knife rammed brutally into Sam's arm to the hilt.

Sam rolled and jerked the knife out.

Both came up in a crouched position.

Sam lunged with the knife.

They impacted.

Down again.

Qasim pinned Sam.

Qasim choked Sam.

Sam sliced Qasim's jugular deeply.

Blood gushed out.

Qasim collapsed onto Sam.

Death gurgles were emitted.

Silence ensued.

Both men lay motionless in a fast growing pool of blood.


	15. All Your Men Are Dead & Out Now!

**All Your Men Are Dead & Out Now!**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – All Locations Except The Tunnel_**

The ear shattering, savage, inhuman howl reverberated in the ears of all team and unit members. It was followed by sounds of intense hand to hand combat and coarse growls and grunts. Then only silence. It had only lasted no more than a minute or two. Reactions were varied but swift.

Greg began urgently calling for status not knowing who it was but knowing it was serious. Getting no response he made a decision and pulled out his phone and started to call for backup and EMS. He was kicking himself; he should have done this long ago.

Thoughts of Ed, Spike and Sam entered his head. It could be any one of his men or any one of the unit men. He needed to get extra help here and now. He paced in a tight circle rubbing his face with one hand while the other held the phone to his ear.

Due to the fact JTF2 had jurisdiction and the security level required Winnie was not allowed to be tapped in and it was not recorded on autoscriptor. Again he chided himself for not calling sooner. Greg knew Winds needed EMS, heat exhaustion could rapidly turn to heat stroke in today's weather.

Greg should have interceded sooner. It would take time for them to arrive. Based on the sounds he had no idea how much time whoever was hurt had. The call was answered and Greg stated "Winnie, I need EMS, back up." He continued to tell Winnie what he needed.

Apollo had only taken two steps up on his way between the first and second floors. He was so startled by the harsh loud sound that he missed the third step and stumbled crashing to his knees. Stunned immobile a moment listening he thought never, absolutely never had he heard something so inhuman.

What the hell happened? Who the hell did it happen too? Apollo recovered quickly. What if it was Russ or Cameo? He ran as fast as he could up the remaining steps and rashly flung open the door at the top of the stairs with his weapon ready.

Apollo had to know, he had to help if it was them. He first looked left, empty. Then he looked right, his eyes landed on both. Thank god they were okay.

Russ and Cameo locked eyes at the initial ungodly sound. Cameo's eyes were wide open and infused with fear and concern. Both were glad they were able to withhold the sharp intakes of breaths that would have surely given their position away.

As the sounds continued it was evident to each that whoever was engaged in combat it was going to be a fight to the death, they both hoped it wouldn't be a unit member. They held still and silent knowing the danger to Daphne if they made any sound. But the utter silence over the headset after the death gurgles unsettled them.

Then they heard the door to the stairs fling open and slam against the wall as Apollo came into view.

Russ thought, shit, god damned rookie, our surprise element just flew out the fucking window.

Cameo linked with Apollo's eyes and glared at him trying to convey 'dammit Apollo you're gonna get us all killed'.

Mason and Pawn were crouched close together quietly conferring on how to handle all the targets in the next section of the room when their ears were assaulted by the sound. Mason stood quickly and collided with Pawn's knee as he rose.

Pawn was knocked completely off balance by the collision and ended up on his ass. He quickly recovered and stood too listening horrified by the sounds and the looks that were crossing his Sergeant's face.

Mason had a suspicion who had howled. But whoever it was he was in extreme pain that much he could hear in the terrible sounds tearing from him. He wished he could go help but he knew he could not; his job was here with twenty-six targets.

If it is Blondie, Ed better have his back or he was going to kill him. Then he thought, oh god don't let it be Cameo or Apollo, he couldn't bear to lose another man under his command.

Winds had been listening intently to everything all along. He had made Leah help him don a vest several minutes ago. She would not listen at first. Then he reasoned with her told her that even though it would be hot it would be safer if someone broke the perimeter. He had only resorted to that line of thinking to get her help. What he really wanted was to be prepared if he needed to go in.

He was completely pissed he was not there to help. Russ was facing so many targets with only two rooks and Russ's mind must be a bit rattled knowing he was the only one of his unit not down. Winds had relaxed a bit when he realized Russ also had one damned fine sniper helping. Jules could nearly rival Blondie in accuracy and speed.

At the howling Winds scrambled to his feet and ripped out the IV. He knew exactly who had howled. He had heard a sound like that only one other time in his life, when Blondie found Matt dead.

Holy hell, did Blondie find Ben dead? Winds had tuned out all other sounds after the howl. He glanced once at the PDA to locate Blondie's position and started forward on shaky legs. He was going in there Blondie needed him.

Leah listened and her stomach dropped and rolled over at the sounds she heard. She saw Winds' reaction. Leah rushed forward and slipped his arm around her shoulders to steady him.

By the look on Winds' face Leah knew she could not stop him from going. But she could help him get there without falling on his face. He had only slightly registered her help so intent on getting to the buildings.

Wordy stood stock still listening to the fury and agony flowing through the headset. He did not know the unit men well enough to know if they were capable of making sounds like that. But he knew two men very well. Both were capable of imbuing that much pain and anger into their voice and at that level. He needed to help but he didn't who or where. No one was answering Boss' call for status.

He felt so ineffective being stuck out here on the perimeter. His specialty was entry and close quarters combat. The need to punch something that had been brewing all day finally won out as he slammed his fist into a tree.

Wordy shook it out glad he hadn't broken it but he knew in that moment he could kill if need be just like a soldier. His hands would still be clean at the end of the day. These were terrorists. They killed innocents like Shel and his daughters without regard or feelings. He started to sprint towards the building.

Spike had just clipped the last of the wires to defuse the third bomb when the ear shattering roar filled his left ear with the headset and a quieter version of it reached his right ear. The sounds came from the tunnel. It was Ed or Sam.

One of his family needed help and now by the sounds of it. Thank god he was finished here. He quickly stowed the bomb gear into the pack, slung it over his shoulder and then raced for the tunnel his MP5 at the ready.

Whoever was currently hurting one of his brothers was going down. Spike would not standby and allow another one to die if he could do something to save them.

Jules nearly lost her perch as she jerked at the sound. She knew instantly who it was. Oh god Sam!

Her breath was knocked from her as if she was sucker punched hard in the gut. Her throat had constricted tightly closed. Jules could not make a single sound make it past her lips. Even if she could make a sound she would not. He was fighting for his life and she would not distract him.

The Remi was dangling from the safety strap. She listened intently as she pulled the Remi up. She settled back into position. Jules aligned the scope to the windows again.

She forced herself to relax and breathe properly. Others were counting on her to be in position and ready when the command to fire was given. When the silence came she thought Sam, oh god please be okay.

Jules finally forced air through her windpipe and whispered out sadly "Ed what is Sam's status?"

Everyone heard her whisper in the deathly silence. Now the entire team and unit then knew it was Sam. Jules always knew.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – The Tunnel_**

Ed had been shocked by the unearthly blood thirsty howl from Sam. He had been behind Sam and not clearly seen who it was that Sam launched himself at. But with the brief glimpses he did get as the two struggled he thought he looked familiar.

The man had spoken softly and Ed could not make out the words and then the man laughed. That is when Sam uncoiled and sprung himself forward. Sam did not even pull out his knife. It was like Sam wanted to kill the man with his bare hands.

There was absolutely nothing Ed could do to intercede. Sam was like a rabid wolf intent on ripping his prey to pieces. They were so close and moved too much, too quickly that he was unable to take a shot. It had seemed like hours watching it transpire but it was in actuality less than two minutes from beginning to end.

When the knife plunged into Sam's right arm he moved close trying to help but then the man bucked and twisted. He was surprised Sam had been thrown off with the vise like grip he had on the man's throat. It must have been due to the knife wound to the arm Ed thought.

Then they were on their feet and back on the ground in a flash. It happened so fast he hadn't seen how the man had gotten Sam pinned. He had watched Sam too often with Wordy practicing close quarters combat. That just didn't happen. Ed was about to fire when the man had collapsed onto Sam.

That had been a few seconds ago. Sam's eyes were closed and he still hadn't moved and there was so much blood. Ed was a bit afraid of what he was going to find.

Jules' soft question propelled him into action. As Ed moved forward to roll the man off of Sam he heard running footfalls from behind him. He turned ready for action not knowing who was coming out of the darkness.

Ed was standing in the light several steps away from two men on the ground in a large pool of blood. Spike saw Sam underneath someone whose throat had been slashed wide open. He saw Ed turn and raise his weapon at him.

Spike called out "Ed it's me." The gun dropped instantly.

Ed turned back to Sam and he pushed the man off of Sam. It was clear he was dead and Ed didn't bother to give him a glance. His focus was solely on Sam.

The question was, was Sam alive, injured? As he knelt to check Sam's pulse Spike skidded to a stop next to him. Ed glanced at Spike. The crestfallen, desperate look on Spike's face probably mirrored his own. Ed reached for Sam's neck to check his pulse.

In two seconds flat Ed was on his back in the large puddle of blood with Sam on top of him. Sam was on his knees and straddled Ed's chest. He had his hands wrapped around Ed's neck rapidly cutting off his air supply. There was a wild look in Sam's eyes.

Ed realized Sam's mind was clearly in the fight or flight mode. Patch said he always chose fight. Fighting for air Ed thought god damned adrenaline, it made Sam so strong. Neither he nor Spike working together could pry Sam's hands off his throat.

Both Spike and Ed yelled "Sam stop."

Ed's vision was dimming as Sam continued to hold tight.

Spike was frantically yelling "Dammit Sam let go, it's Ed, let go now. You're killing him, let go. Don't make me hit you. Let go NOW" while yanking on Sam's arms trying to pull him off.

He was seriously considering using the butt of his gun to knock Sam out. Nothing was getting through. Spike couldn't let Sam kill Ed. Spike stepped back a bit and grabbed his gun. He was about to strike Sam when he heard Winds over the headset.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside Near Treeline_**

The booming commanding voice of Winds echoed across the headset "CORPORAL BRADDOCK STAND DOWN, STAND DOWN NOW!"

Winds had heard Spike and Ed and knew exactly what was happening and how to get Blondie to stop. In their six years together in the unit, Blaze and he had done this several times with Blondie. It was just something that happened when a soldier was in survival mode.

Hell it happened to all of them more times than any of them would want to admit. They all knew how to handle it when it did occur to one of the unit. How or why it always worked to pierce the fog they didn't know but it always did, especially with Blondie.

The fast walk and effort to yell at Blondie took their toll on him. Winds had managed to make it near the tree line when his body gave out on him again. He was disgusted with his body as he started to sink to the ground unable to stand anymore. Then blackness crept in. His last thought before falling into the dark abyss was 'not now dammit I cannot fail them'.

Leah prevented Winds from crashing down as he passed out. She had been surprised he made it this far. Leah thought just what the hell was up with these JTF2 men.

Then she thought back to Ed scolding of Sam this morning _'no he-man, macho, I'm an ex-JTF2 soldier so I can survive without as much water as you mere mortals antics today'_. She duly noted that they indeed were acting like he-men, macho soldiers.

It seemed to her they were accustomed to pushing themselves past the limits of their endurance to save others. Leah knew more than a few firefighters that did the same. She laid his head gently on the ground, scanned the area for subjects.

Next, Leah removed his vest. She rebuked herself, should have never agreed to help him put this on. Lastly, she pulled several bottles of water out of her pack and doused him completely. Then she took up a guard position to ensure his safety.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – The Tunnel_**

It was a darned good thing Sam's ear piece was still in. Hearing Winds' command Sam blinked several times and instantly released the pressure and removed his hands from Ed's throat. He sat back on Ed's stomach as focus returned to his eyes and he looked at the man's face beneath him.

Dawning realization that it was Ed he had been choking hit him like a ton of bricks, crushing and confusing him.

Shit, somehow he had imaged it was Qasim. Why? Did he attack Ed outright? Did he have a flashback? No couldn't be a flashback.

Sam only wished he could kill the bastard with his bare hands. He wanted so badly to beat Qasim's face to a bloody pulp then choke the bastard to death. But he never had the chance to do that. So it couldn't be a flashback.

Maybe it was because he had seen his picture today. He had never seen a photo of then bastard before. The last time he ever saw the bastard was the last time he tortured him. He had never known the bastard's name either. If he had he would have searched him out and killed him. Oh Shit, his head was so fucked up right now.

He saw the finger marks on Ed's throat. Holy hell he just about killed his team lead, his friend, his brother, thinking Ed was Qasim. Sam had no clue why he had attacked Ed.

The last thing he remembered was starting into the tunnel with Ed after sending Apollo to Russ. He was so damned confused. Sam just sat looking at Ed as Ed was regaining his air in deep gasps.

A hand grabbed and tugged hard on his right arm trying to get him off Ed. Sam hissed, winced and tried to pull his arm away. The hand squeezed and pulled harder and Sam growled this time. His eyes began to lose focus and cloud over again.

His vision finally cleared and Ed saw what was happening and rasped out "Stop Spike."

Ed had seen the knife plunge into the arm exactly where Spike was pulling. Sam was covered in so much blood Spike didn't realize some of it was actually Sam's and he had a badly injured arm. The pain Spike was unintentionally causing was pushing Sam back to the fight mode.

Spike stopped, released Sam's arm and looked to Ed quizzically.

In one smooth, fluid movement Sam had re-positioned himself off of Ed. He was crouched with his back towards the wall his head dropped down, elbows resting on his thighs with his arms hanging between his legs.

Sam closed his eyes. Spike was here, were the bombs defused? Yes. Spike wouldn't leave them unless they were. Sam felt so awful. God, would Ed ever forgive him for what he had just done? Why had he attacked Ed? Why?

He spoke softly, his voice filled with anguish and confusion with his head still down "Ed, I'm not sure why. But I think, maybe ... um I think. Oh god, I think I thought you were ... um, that you were someone else. But he can't, ... um, he's not here, ... um he can't be here. God, I'm so sorry. I don't know what made me attack you, ... um don't know why I thought you were him. Forgive me. Are you okay?"

Ed glanced over at the dead man. He remembered where he had seen him now. Christ, Sam had just killed the man who had tortured him for months. Sam's violent shaking, his actions and confused state made sense now. Coming face to face with the bastard that tortured you would clearly mess with your mind. And Sam's was already in a state of shock with everything that had happened today.

But Ed's first concern was to find out if Sam was injured anywhere else. With so much blood he could have other injuries. Then he would deal with the confusion and state of his mind after.

With a bit of effort Ed sat up and said with concern "Samo the question is are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere beside the right arm?" He waited patiently giving time for Sam to self assess his injuries.

As Ed had asked Sam if he was okay, Spike immediately looked at his hands then Sam's arm where he had been pulling. He saw the wide tear in the jacket arm and blood. He pulled out a pressure bandage and moved cautiously toward Sam.

"Hey buddy, I'm just gonna take care of your arm, okay." Spike stopped several paces away and waited to get Sam's permission before he would touch him. Sam seemed to be with them now but he wasn't totally convinced he was thinking clearly yet. Spike did not want his actions to provoke another incident.

Sam recognized for the first time his arm throbbed with pain. His side burned with a deep pulsating ache, it hurt, a lot. Why? He opened his eyes and finally noticed the blood covering the tips of his boots. He looked at his knees, blood. He glanced at his hands, blood. He surveyed his chest and arms, blood. His face and neck felt sticky, blood. The coppery iron odor swirling around him finally invaded his sense of smell, blood.

How the hell did he get covered in so much blood? Whose blood? His? Ed? No, they'd be dead if they lost this much. Whose blood?

Sam looked up for the first time since re-positioning next to the wall. He looked at Ed first, then Spike then he saw the dead man on the ground. Sam's eyes widened in shocked recognition.

It was Qasim. He was dead. His face had been pounded bloody and his throat was slit wide open. All the bastard's life blood was pooled on the floor.

Did he? Could he really? Was he really capable of it? He had planned it for so long in his mind, but could he? He wanted to so badly, but was he that type of man? Did he just murder the bastard? Was he a cold-blooded murderer?

A small sound escaped Sam's throat "Did I?"

Ed had seen where Sam's gaze had landed and was about to answer Sam's soft question when over the headsets they heard Russ command "Now" followed by heavy rapid gunfire.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Tarp Room_**

The targets in the room had to have heard the stairwell door slam when Apollo had burst onto the second floor. But none of the men in the room reacted to the sound; they were all intent listening to Daphne's latest rant. Russ thought she had a wide and colorful use of the language.

He was just starting to relax slightly thinking that their position was not compromised by Apollo's rookie actions. Then Mousa called out "Yassin that better be you. I'm sick of waiting for the remote." He waited a few moments for a response. When none was given he said "Syed check it out."

Mousa was losing his composure completely dealing with this woman. He finally walked over to Daphne. He still hadn't gotten her to say anything useful yet. She only cussed or screamed.

He backhanded her one more time "Tell me now or I kill you."

Syed had nodded ascent to Mousa at the command and headed for the door. He had stopped half way to the door to watch a moment. This woman was pissing Mousa off. She was bold but stupid to behave this way; Mousa would hurt her badly before killing her for this behavior. But it was also damned entertaining. He had to keep his head down and turned away not to show his laughter at Mousa's reactions to all the names she called him.

Daphne looked Mousa square in the eyes and said "You planned to anyway. What difference does it make now? I will tell you nothing you low-life, lily-livered, son of a whore, pissant."

Syed chuckled as he resumed walking towards the door.

Russ was half-listening to the conversation on the headset of what was taking place in the tunnel; he thought briefly damn Blondie's hurt. But he was more intent on what was happening in the tarp room; that had to be his focus.

He was responsible for getting Daphne to safety. Everything went to hell in a hand-basket a heartbeat after Spike asked to take care of Blondie's arm.

Syed had taken three steps out turned towards the stairs and taken five steps forward. Russ had positioned himself behind him and was reaching up to grab the man's head. That's when Syed saw Apollo and yelled "Soldiers."

That was the last thing Syed ever said. Russ snapped his neck and the man crumpled to the floor dead. Russ cussed silently wishing he had been just a little faster. But the yell had alerted the men inside the room.

Russ knew they had to move now or Daphne was dead for sure. As Russ and Cameo rushed into the room weapons drawn he called out "Now."

Apollo followed them into the room a few seconds later.

There was nowhere for any of them to hide or take cover. The room was empty except for the people, a small table with a monitor on it and one chair which contained Daphne.

Fire was exchanged. Russ, Cameo and Apollo ensuring they did not fire near Daphne if possible. They focused on the ones not visible through the window.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Sniper Perch_**

Jules had her breathing just right as she watched closely. She heard Russ's command. In quick succession she had taken out two terrorists that had raised their guns towards what she assumed was the door. Only one of them was able to fire his weapon. No other men were visible through the window.

Then she saw Mousa duck behind Daphne. She could see his head but could not take the shot. It would penetrate his head and enter Daphne's chest from this angle.

So Jules waited. She heard all the gunfire. She wanted to help more but no one else entered into the window space.

Jules called out "Have Mousa in sight but no joy, too close to Daphne."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Tarp Room_**

As Cameo took out one target he was hit in the leg and went down. He was struggling to right himself and raise his gun when another terrorist pointed a gun directly at his head. In the split second it registered Cameo thought oh shit I'm dead as the man fired multiple times.

Cameo blinked. He was not dead. He was not hit again. Apollo's body crashed down in front of him.

Apollo had seen what happened to Cameo and reacted with instinct only. He had to save Cameo, it didn't matter how or what the cost was to himself. He threw himself into the line of fire as he fired his own weapon at the man targeting Cameo.

Both men crashed to the ground. One was dead with a single perfect shot between the eyes. One was unconscious because the air was knocked completely from his lungs from the force of four bullets impacting the Kevlar vest covering his chest.

Russ's sniper skills combined with his controlled fury over what this man had done to his unit, to Daphne, to Ben, to others made him deadly. He had taken out three men with perfect kill shots before Apollo had even entered behind him. As he saw in his peripheral vision Cameo and Apollo go down, he had fired and taken a fourth one out.

That left only the coward Mousa who was hiding behind Daphne.

Russ called out "Mousa, there is nowhere for you to go. Come out now."

He wished that he knew Apollo's status he was unmoving. He could see Cameo moving he was hit but no idea how bad. He heard Jules report no joy. It was now a standoff between him and Mousa with Daphne between.

Daphne was utterly shocked at the speed in which the terrorists were taken out. The cold blooded killer was now cowering behind her like a gutless wimp. She saw two unit men down. She didn't know them.

Where the hell was Blaze? He must be here somewhere. Hopefully he got Ben. She glanced at the monitor, it was destroyed. She could no longer see Ben.

"They have Ben in another room. I think they drugged him he is curled up on the floor in a corner not moving" Daphne yelled out to Russ.

From his hiding place Mousa yelled "Shut up woman or you're dead."

Daphne laughed and yelled "No I told you. You were going to die you fugly, gutless, coward. I told you that you had no idea what you did and who was coming after you. They will not rest until you are dead asswipe. Just look around you, every last one of your men are dead."

As he cowered behind Daphne, Mousa pulled out his phone. That wasn't quite right, not all his men were dead. But if he was going to die he was going to take all of the soldiers, this damned woman and the brat with him. Mousa dialed.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Supply Building - South Side_**

Wordy had reached the building when the gunfire erupted. He carefully opened the southeast door and snuck in crouched low. There was a half wall directly in front of him. He scanned the area quickly, no one around. He called out in a low voice "Bravo unit, Wordy southeast interior near stairs."

Mason responded "Roger, extra hands welcome. Targets west of you second section. Hold. Hold."

Wordy replied "Copy."

Then Wordy crouched low and waited. All hell was breaking loose. He heard what was happening in the tarp room. He heard what had happened in the tunnel. He knew what needed to be done here. Christ they still needed to locate Ben. What if he was in the third section?

He called out "Going to clear third section."

Wordy heard Ed, Greg and Mason tell him no at varying levels of volume. Greg's being the loudest. He waited until it quieted down and said "Boss, we need to know if Ben is there. If he is I can get him out now. Not safe for him in here."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – West Perimeter_**

Greg was kicking the dirt and had thrown his hat to the ground. His face was contorted in distress. He didn't like this one damned bit. He had backup on the way and several EMS units but they would hold the perimeter one mile away until the situation was contained.

Wordy was supposed to be outside; Spike and Ed too. Now all three were in there and he had heard all the gun fire. He knew no status of the unit men. He knew Sam was wounded but not how seriously.

What the hell happened in there? Why did Sam attack Ed? Who the hell did Sam think Ed was? He heard Ed speak but was he okay? His voice was raspy and he hadn't answered Sam. Had Sam hurt Ed badly?

Greg pulled himself together his team needed him to be calm and provide guidance. He said evenly and firmly "Wordy, go careful, no unacceptable risks. Ed status. Jules status."

Wordy responded "Copy that."

Greg listened as Jules gave him the situation from her view.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – The Tunnel_**

All three had heard what was going on. Sam had assessed his injuries and decided not to tell them about the side wound. He didn't have time, he needed to find Ben; especially if Qasim had been anywhere near him. He had nodded his approval for Spike to apply the compression bandage to his arm. Spike had just finished.

Ed and Spike watched as Sam pulled out his own pressure bandage and started to wipe the blood from his face and hands. They stood and looked at each other. They spoke to one another quietly as Sam continued to clean off the blood.

When Sam was done he covertly tucked it into his side wound. It was the best he could do for now. Sam rose pushing himself up by his legs his back rubbing along the wall all the way up to help stabilize himself. He did not want to show them he was unsteady and in pain. He covered as much pain as he could. But a hiss of pain escaped him as he stood fully erect.

That's when they heard the Sarge call for status. Ed waited for Jules to finish then replied "Spike and me, no harm. Sam has a knife wound to the arm. One target neutralized."

Greg had relaxed slightly. It could be so much worse.

Ed and Spike had both watched how slowly Sam rose. They could tell he hurt. They both attributed it to sore muscle from the fight and pain from the arm wound. But when he hissed Spike asked "You sure you're okay buddy?"

Sam evaded by underplaying significantly and redirecting. He responded "Yeah, just a bit stiff and sore. We need to clear the basement. Mason won't be able to with the targets between him and the stairs."

They nodded. Sam let Ed and Spike head off before him. Neither saw the trail of blood Sam's side wound had left on the wall or the small puddle on the floor where he had crouched.

Sam remained as rear guard and always positioned his injured side away from them. He adjusted the pressure bandage as best he could to stop the flow. If Ed or Spike knew or even suspected, they would stop to check him out. As far as Sam was concerned that would waste valuable time which he refused to do. He had to find Ben now. He had to be in the supply basement. He pushed passed the pain and focused on his objective, Ben.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Supply Building_**

The three had cleared the all the rooms in the basement except one. As they were clearing the previous room they heard Wordy report that he had not found Ben in the third section. That he was now positioned in the third section holding to assist with the large group of terrorist. Mason and Wordy had quietly discussed a two sided assault. They heard Russ trying to get Mousa to surrender, but to no avail, Mousa didn't even respond.

Spike, Ed and Sam were now positioned to enter the very last room in the southeast of the building that had the stairs to the shipping dock. This was the last place Ben could be. Sam quietly said "Alpha moving into last room."

It was a large dimly lit room nearly forty feet across and nearly one hundred yards deep. There were several six foot tall partitions that obstructed a full view of the room especially the farthest darkest east corners.

Spike moved in slowly followed by Ed and Sam. Sam went to the south side, Ed and Spike the north. They alternated moving forward looking for Ben. About half way through the room Spike whispered "Looks like the stairs are in the far northeast corner."

Sam moved around one of the partitions to get a better look. Sure enough he could just barely make out a set of metal stairs leading from the southeast corner at ground level down to the northeast corner ending at the basement level. His eye caught a small movement near the base of the stairs.

He motioned to Ed and Spike with hand signals indicating he thought someone was in the room near the bottom of the stairs. They moved low and fast to the east side of the room still searching for Ben.

The bottom of the stairs were on Ed's and Spike's side of the room. They were behind partitions almost to the stairs when they heard someone speak.

Yassin had been surprised when Mousa gave him orders speaking in Farsi instead of English. He always ranted at Yassin for using their native language. It became clear why when he told him what was going on in the tarp room.

At first he ordered Yassin to send the six armed men to kill the one soldier left in the room. Yassin saw an opportunity, he was always looking for one, so he lied and said they were already dead. That soldiers had killed them and he was the only one alive.

Then Mousa changed his tune and told Yassin that in that case he was not going to make it out alive. But Yassin should continue their work. He gave him the name of someone to contact when he made it out of here. Then told him to blow the building up to kill all the soldiers inside.

Happy to speak it back he said "قابل درک باشد. من آن را به زودی ضربه، فقط نیاز به چند چیز ."  
 _(Understood. I'll blow it shortly, just need to get a few things.)_

Yassin hung up with Mousa. He stood a while thinking. He had no intention of continuing Mousa's work. He knew all the bank account information. This was his opportunity.

He was going to be a very rich man now. Yassin would never have to work another day in his life. He could live the life of luxury. He sat down on a step then dialed another number when it was answered he directed.

"کشتن همه آنها را در حال حاضر و پس از آن برای من صبر وجود دارد."  
(Kill them all now and then wait for me there) Yassin ordered.

He wondered slightly why Qasim wasn't back but it would be fitting he died in his own blast. At least the boy wouldn't suffer at the hands of that sicko. He smiled and waited to hear the gun fire from above.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Tarp Room_**

After Mousa hung up he laughed. He knew he was going to die but Yassin would carry on his work. He had been grooming Yassin for years to take over. These infidels would all die. They had no idea what was coming shortly.

Russ had been listening to the conversation Mousa had. He called out "Mousa just called someone and told him to detonate the bombs remotely."

Mousa was shocked, he had spoken Farsi, how did he know what he said? He called out from his hiding place "If I die you all die. Let me leave and I'll tell Yassin to stop."

Russ replied "We defused your three bombs in the basement."

Mousa laughed and yelled "You didn't get them all then."

He placed his gun to Daphne's temple as he stood up and laughed again "Guess you're gonna die too."

Mousa dropped like a sack of potatoes his head completely obliterated from three shots that arrived simultaneously; one from Jules, one from Russ and one from Cameo.

Russ called out "Mousa dead" as he raced forward to cut Daphne's binds. "Exfil now, more bombs. Charlie exfil'ing with Daphne, alive no harm."

Daphne yelled "Find Ben, find my boy" as the last of the tape was cut.

Russ looked at her "I need your help, I can't get both Apollo and Cameo out myself. Help Cameo, I'll carry Apollo."

She started to refuse so he lied by implying "Blondie is taking care Ben. Let's go."

Russ knew Blondie would never leave until he found Ben. He hoped he found him in time though.

Daphne glanced at the monitor again wishing she could see Ben but it had been demolished in the gunfire. She prayed Russ was not lying as she nodded and headed to help Cameo stand. She knew Sam. She knew he would not leave Ben no matter the circumstances. She would trust Sam to save Ben.

Russ checked Apollo's pulse quickly, thank god alive. He noted the four slugs in Apollo's vest and swelling on the side of his head as he slung him over his shoulder. Russ thought, he's gonna have one hellava headache when he wakes.

But he's gonna wish he had died once Mason gets finished with him for his stupid assed rookie mistake. The four exited the building as fast as they could.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Shipping Dock_**

A man hung up a phone, gave a signal and automatic gunfire resounded in the second section. The six armed targets mowed down every last one of the twenty men. It was done in seconds flat. Not a one of the twenty was left alive.

Mason, Pawn and Wordy executed the plan they had devised for a two pronged assault to deal with the six armed targets. Mason took out three in short order. Pawn and Wordy each took out one. The last was now hidden behind a pile of old pallets. Mason and Pawn were trying to determine how to get to him.

All three paused as they heard Russ report there were more bombs. Mason called out "Wordy exfil now, Pawn and I have this covered."

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Basement Room in Supply Building_**

Yassin heard the gunfire above. He laughed. At the same time Sam, Ed and Spike heard Russ's warning.

Spike immediately started looking about for bombs. He located one near the base of the pillar in the room behind the partition. He immediately started to work. He wondered how many there were. There were three in the other room. He was kicking himself for not thinking that there might be more bombs and scanning for them earlier.

Moving forward, Ed focused on the man seated on the stairs. He saw as the man rose. He stood for a moment. When the gunfire ceased he turned and started to go up the steps.

Ed's normal training took over and he said "SRU freeze. Turn around now and show your hands."

Sam started to search for Ben. He had to be here, it was the only place left. He scanned the area and his eyes landed on a metal table with ropes attached. Then he saw the needles and burner. A single thought raced through his mind 'no, please no, don't let Ben have suffered that way." He frantically scanned.

His heart lifted a little as his eyes found Ben half hidden behind the metal table on the floor against the northeast wall. He was so tiny; so helpless; he needed protecting. Ben was curled into a little ball and not moving.

Sam started forward. His side hurt like hell, adrenaline had worn off as they had cleared the rooms. His step was now unsteady and he had to stop a moment when he got a bit dizzy. Crap not now, not now.

He placed his hand on the wound and applied pressure. He was so close to saving Ben. Sam pushed the pain down again and focused solely on Ben's little face. He took a deep breath then he moved again getting closer to Ben; he was only fifteen paces away.

He heard Ed yell at the man on the stairs to stop. He should have just blown him away Sam thought. Then he heard Ed yell "Grenade" as he heard something clank on the ground and begin to roll.

In a split second Sam realized the grenade was rolling directly for Ben. He reacted instantly, he ran and launched himself toward the rolling object on the ground and yelled "NOOOOO."

A loud blast was heard over the headsets and feedback whined loudly making everyone listening react in pain as the sound assaulted their ear. Recovering quickly Greg called out "Status."

No response.

"Status Now" Greg repeated.

The sound of the blast had been so loud in the confined space and ricocheted off the concrete walls that Ed's and Spike's ears were ringing so badly. They did not hear the calls for status.

Ed had seen Sam launch himself toward the grenade. The subject had fled up the stairs and was gone. Ed felt like he was in slow motion as he rushed toward Sam his mind chastising himself for not just shooting the man, what the hell was he thinking? He may have just gotten Sam killed. He bellowed "Sam."

Everyone flinched at Ed's roar. Both relief and concern flooded all those listening. Relief at hearing Ed speak and concern at the distressed way he had called out Sam's name.

Greg called out "Ed status."

Ed's ears cleared enough for him to hear Greg "Subject got away up the stairs. Spike working on a bomb, no harm for Spike and I. Sam's down, officer down. Damn it Sam why …" he didn't finish as he saw the curled up Ben next to Sam. Ed quickly checked Sam's pulse without moving him and sighed; alive. Ed then went to Ben and checked his pulse to, thank god alive.

He called out "Ben located, alive."

Two shots were heard over the headsets followed by reports from Mason and Wordy that they each had taken out a target. Mason was able to get the last of the armed men in section two and Wordy took out one that exited the stairs from the basement.

Spike wanted to check Sam badly but he knew what he had to do first. He had to defuse the bomb. He continued to work. These were complicated and took time.

Luckily this one looked just like the others. But with only six minutes on the timer it would be close. Then there was the possibility there were other bombs. Crap he thought. He worked quickly with steady confident hands.

"Ed, what's Sam's status?" Greg asked.

"He's out cold; unsure of the extent of his injuries. He jumped on a concussion grenade to save Ben" Ed replied.

In his head he was thinking vest should have protected him from most of the blast. Thank god it was only a concussion grenade and not …. He couldn't finish that thought as an image of Lou popped into his head and grief washed over him. Dammit Sam, I don't ever want to lose another of the team that way.

Jules, Wordy, Greg all screamed "Sam did what?"

Mason, Pawn and Wordy ran at full tilt to the basement. Jules fast rappelled from the tree and started to sprint to the south side of the supply building.

"What's the situation down there?" Greg asked.

"Boss, we got a tricky bomb down here. Not sure if there are more than one. The timer has been activated. Clear the building." Spike added "Ed, out now, one man down range."

Ed responded "Not leaving Sam."

Spike responded harshly, hating what he had to say as much as Ed would hate hearing it "Ed, take Ben and go. You know protocol."

Not liking it at all Ed responded harshly back "If it too short you cannot carry Sam by yourself up all those stairs. I will not lose either of you. Leave the bomb now."

"We can't move him; we don't know the extent of his injuries. Out now. Let me defuse this so we can get Sam help" Spike said.

"Moving him is a chance I'm willing to take. But I WILL NOT let two more get blown to bits. Move now" Ed shouted. Spike continued to work.

As Ed was yelling at Spike, Wordy, Mason and Pawn were bounding down the stairs. Ed grabbed the back loop of Spike's vest and hauled him up and with fury bellowed "OUT NOW!"

When he had pulled Spike up, he had ahold of a wire. It pulled free. There was a click. Ed and Spike both heard it and looked at the bomb. The timer dropped from five minutes to sixty seconds. Not quite enough time to clear the building. If only they had a few more seconds.

As Spike wrenched out of Ed's hold and delved into his basic bomb kit bag he yelled "GET OUT NOW SIXTY SECONDS."

Ed watched as Spike clipped a device to the bomb. Wordy scooped up Ben. Pawn helped Mason position Blondie over Mason's shoulders. They had seventy seconds to get out now. Those extra few seconds could mean the difference between life and death. Everyone ran for the stairs.


	16. Priority 1 – Dragonfire - Execute

**Priority 1 – Dragonfire - Execute**

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside Northeast Side Supply Building_**

Debris was still settling as Jules coughed. There was no sound as she blinked her eyes open. Her first thought was it was 'wow it's snowing' as tons of small particles floated down in front of her eyes.

She was on flat on her back and she hurt. Sound rushed back in. Through the incessant ringing she heard rumbling and crashing sounds.

Her second thought was 'not snow, ash, debris, the building blew'.

Jules slowly turned her head towards the buildings, it hurt to move. It took her a few moments for the reality of what she was seeing to sink in.

They no longer existed. Only a pile of rubble lay where once stood buildings.

Her team? Her family? Her Sam? No oh god no.

Jules screamed. She had to find them. She tried to sit up and pain engulfed her as blackness took her again.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside North of Command Building_**

Russ was pulling himself up to his knees. He and Apollo were almost to the trees when the explosion occurred. He had been thrown forward by the shockwave. Everything hurt. His head was pounding. He reached to the back where it hurt the most. Wet. He brought his hand to forward, blood.

His first clear thoughts were Apollo? Daphne? Cameo? He slowly turned toward the buildings.

He fell to his ass. Nothing. Just nothing. How the hell? He scanned for Apollo, Daphne and Cameo. Apollo was near him. The others were about ten feet away from him both on the ground.

Russ crawled to Apollo and checked his pulse, alive. He dragged himself to his feet. The pounding in his head and ringing in his ears was constant and throwing off his balance.

He staggered his way tilting to the left then to the right to Cameo first. He dropped to his knees. Thank god alive. Russ didn't try to stand again it took to much energy. He crawled the short distance to Daphne. Alive too.

Russ sat and pulled out his phone and dialed. When it answered he said haltingly "Corporal Russell A. Kostopoulos N98-04-2835. Dragonfire."

 _["Roger. Standby."]_

 _["Verified. Status?"]_

Russ only said "Priority 1 sit-rep."

 _["Standby."]_

Russ was getting very dizzy. He lay down knowing he had to stay conscious. He had given the distress code given for this mission. Russ had informed all the unit members of the code when they reached the location.

Per Blondie's orders Russ had briefed Colonel Sutton on the details they knew while they were enroute to the location. Blondie would have normally done so as mission commander but he was engaged with Ed and Mason on developing tactics.

Blondie had told Russ to tell Sutton that it was Priority 1 mission. But he didn't know why. The reason was above his security level and had to have something to do with what Blondie read in the top secret file.

Sutton had given him the code name Blightcrest to specifically relate status of Mousa. He was also instructed to only give the sit-rep directly to him, which Russ also conveyed to the others. So Russ knew he needed to stay conscious long enough to report critical details. He hoped Sutton answered soon. His wish was granted.

 _["Kostopoulos, Colonel Sutton. Details."]_

Russ reported "Sir. four of seven unit down. Three unknown. One of two package down, One unknown. Six of six SRU unknown. One of one cousin unknown. All targets presumed dead. Blightcrest confirmed dead, own eyes. All unknown friendly presumed down. Med Air-Evac. Containment."

 _["Help is on the way" Sutton responded.]_

Russ then said "Sir. The building's gone, there's nothing left." His voice cracked slightly as he said "I'm not sure if seven even made it out of the building." His words came slow and a bit slurred as he said "Sir. Several need immediate medical care. I'm going black."

 _["Hold tight. Stay with me. Corporal respond" Sutton ordered urgently.]_

But Russ didn't hear the Colonel as he slipped unconscious.

* * *

 ** _Special Forces Base – Colonel Sutton's Office_**

When Russ did not respond he immediately dialed another number "Sutton."

 _["Yes Sir" the Master Sergeant replied.]_

"Priority 1, Dragonfire, Execute" Sutton ordered.

 _["Willco. Details Sir?"]_

Sutton heard running footsteps as the Warrant Officer, also known colloquially as Master Sergeant, ran. Then he heard blades of several helicopters rev to full speed. "Five of sixteen confirmed down, Eleven of sixteen presumed down. Seven may need extraction from collapsed building. All targets presumed dead but watch your six."

 _["Roger."]_

"ETA?"

 _["Forward staged unit and med evacs, ready as ordered Sir. ETA ten minutes tops" the Master Sergeant replied._

 _He had found the orders odd when the Colonel first conveyed them but then he said it was Priority 1. Something big was up. It had to be big to order SF recruits to the field._

 _This group was good and almost ready to graduate but still. Jeff Braddock looked at the eight men in the helicopter and thought nothing like on the job training. But the number of downed worried him,_

 _Just what the hell were they flying into? Especially in-country. Jeff knew it was terrorist related otherwise they would not be involved but exactly what was up he was not sure.]_

"Good. Sit-rep when location is secured." Braddock acknowledged the Colonel then Sutton hung up and dialed another number.

It would be early morning there now. When it was answered he quickly said "Priority 1 Dragonfire executing."

 _["When? Status?" was the immediate reply from General Braddock.]_

Sutton relayed all the details as he knew them. Then he said "Will, I'm sorry I don't have specifics yet on who is or is not down or how bad. I will update you with names and details as soon as I know." He knew full well that the General wanted to know about his son but would hesitate to ask outright.

 _["Thanks Tom. You confirmed that Blightcrest is dead."]_

"Yes Sir. Kostopoulos clearly stated that he confirmed with his own eyes before he passed out."

At least that is what he hoped happened. Sutton did not want it to be worse. He would not think on that. To many had died as a result of that bastard Mousa.

 _["My flight leaves in an hour. Keep me informed via sat line from here on out. Will contact you upon arrival" General Braddock ordered.]_

Sutton responded "Wilco."

 _[As the General hung up he bowed his head and silently pleaded, let all them all be alive and okay. Please let Samuel be okay. He sat for one moment more then he rose and strode from his office ordering his staff to prepare to leave.]_

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside Near Treeline_**

When the debris finally stopped falling so heavily Leah pulled herself off of Winds. When Spike had called out sixty seconds she had dropped to cover Winds. She brushed the debris from her hair and looked toward the buildings.

They were flattened like pancakes. She started calling for status but got no response. She checked Winds, still alive but he really needed help soon.

She had seen Jules running toward the supply building. Leah headed that way first. As she cleared the trees she saw Russ and three others. She quickly checked their pulse. All alive but unconscious; she sprinted the direction Jules had taken.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside West Perimeter_**

Greg groaned and pulled himself to a seated position his back against a tree. He blinked several times trying to clear his vision. What the hell just happened? He felt like he had been hit by a truck, make that a freight train. Vision returning he saw the devastation in front of him.

Lightning fast pain ripped through his heart as he realized his team was in there. Pain so intense it closed his throat and threatened to choke him. Oh god not again. Not so soon after Lou. Ed, Wordy, Spike, Sam. He may or may not have screamed. If he did he could not hear. His world was silent.

Greg closed his eyes unable to look at what may very well be the tomb of most of his team.

It was hard to stay awake. He tried but his eyes were closing as their own volition. He heard something that caused him to open them again. Was someone calling for status? He concentrated on the sound, yes, it was female. Jules? No. He said softly "Leah?"

Leah responded quickly "Greg, found Jules. She's unconscious. I don't know if she is hurt. Your status?"

Even in his current state he bristled, would she ever learn to call him Boss or Sarge like the team did. He replied weakly "Okay. You?"

Leah replied "I'm fine." She meant it too; it was the team's definition of fine. How could she not be fine? "Going to see if I can find the guys."

The sound of her voice boomed in his ear and made his head throb "Copy. I'm contacting Winnie."

Greg pulled out his phone and slowly got his fingers to cooperate and dialed Winnie. When she answered he tried to infuse strength and calm into his voice but failed it came out low and unsteady "Winnie I need …"

He was cut off. Winnie heard his voice. It tore her up inside. She could tell he was hurt and she wanted him to save his strength so started in "Sarge, we are aware of the situation. EMS is enroute. Colonel Sutton informed us that Army has med-air-evac and rescue teams on the way. ETA five minutes at most now." Winnie's voice shook and cracked emotionally as she asked "What's the status of the team?"

Greg had to breath deep to control his own emotions as he responded sluggishly "Leah no harm, Jules is down but unknown injuries, the rest unknown."

Winnie struggled to maintain professionalism as all of Team Five was gathered around her desk listening to the status. "And you Sarge?"

Greg tried to think and take stock. Everything hurt and he wasn't really sure but he wanted to allay Winnie's fears so said "Bruised a bit, likely concussion."

His eyes were getting heavy again. He shifted to a prone position to try and stay with them. It wouldn't do to bash his head again on the ground if he blacked out.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside South of Supply Building_**

Leah made it to the south side of the building. The sight that she saw both frightened her and relieved her. Spread-out on the ground were Wordy, Ed, Spike, Sam, Mason, and Pawn. She did not see Ben. They made it out, but were they alive?

The first one she came to was Pawn. He was stirring. He was on his back. He opened his eyes as she knelt and said "Be still. Help is on the way. Don't move."

Pawn looked up and tried to focus. He finally saw Leah. Her words registered. He had no intention of moving it hurt too much he said barely "Roger."

Leah gently patted his shoulder and left.

She saw Spike next and he was on his stomach. There was a cut on his head and his calf was bleeding. He was unconscious but alive. His pulse was good. The blood was a slow trickle so she didn't stop to put a pressure bandage on it. She dared not turn him over to see if he was injured on the front. So she moved to the next one.

It was Ed. He was also on his stomach but she blanched at his back. She almost hurled. It was soaked with blood. She quickly checked his pulse. It was strong and steady. Leah then checked for injuries without moving him. But she could find nothing to account for all the blood on his back.

His neck was bruised and what looked like finger prints wrapped around it. Just what the heck happened to him? Wait Sam attacked him, he had sorry. By the bruising Sam must have been choking him. What the heck?

As she was checking Ed she noticed the bear of a man stirring. He had gotten to his knees before she squatted next to him. Again she said "Be still. Greg called Winnie, help is on the way. Don't move."

Mason looked at her then said "I'm alright. Head hurts bad but okay otherwise." He looked about. He saw the building behind him. He saw all the men down. He sat.

Leah didn't believe him, there was some blood on his shoulder and down his chest and back. These damned macho men. She said "How can you be okay? You're covered in blood."

Mason looked down and at his shoulder and said simply "Not mine."

Leah blinked at the nonchalant way he said it "Whose then?" She thought of Ed's back. Who was bleeding so much and why were they covered in it?

Mason's head was a bit rattled. He heard what he thought were distant sirens, but it could just be the ringing in his ears. It took him a moment to register her question and again simply said "Blondie's I think."

They needed help here, a lot of help and fast. Mason pulled out his phone.

Leah was again taken aback by his causal manner and watched as he dialed. What was he doing?

When the call was answered Mason said all business, no hint of injury or emotion "Sergeant Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich'O'Naoimhín N68-12-0438. Dragonfire." Mason thought, damn my name is a mouthful to say when my head pounds so badly.

 _["Roger. Standby."]_

 _["Verified. Connecting."]_

Mason was initially surprised to be told connecting. But then realized one of the others must have already called it in.

 _["Sròn, Srònai, Ah hell Mason, it's Sutton. Sorry, could never say your last name. Kostopoulos called in already. Help dispatched ETA imminent." Sutton the told Mason all that Russ had reported. He finished saying "Sit-rep from your position."]_

As Mason had listened he smiled despite the situation. Few people could say his last name, hell they even struggled with his first. His father had insisted on keeping the tradition of using their Gaelic names because he was so enamored with his Scottish Highland ancestry. Hell his dad could recite it verbatim eight generations back. His name had caused a lot of problems until he started using the moniker derived from the first letter of each of his names, MASON.

Everyone just thought Mason was either his first or last name unless they knew him. The only ones that could pronounce his full name right was Blondie and the General. They both had an aptitude for languages.

When Sutton finished Mason ignored the apology, none was required and he jumped right to the detail he could provide. "Sir. We got out of the building but just barely. I see Pawn conscious not moving. Blondie down not sure how bad; carried him unconscious from the building. He jumped on a grenade to save the boy. General's gonna be pissed about that one. But Blondie had no choice, it was him or Matt's boy. You know the choice Blondie would make."

 _[Sutton interrupted "I don't want to be in the same room as the General when he finds out about that one. Continue, the others, the boy?"]_

Mason snorted lightly "I totally agree Sir. Three SRU are down that I can see all are unconscious, unsure of injuries. The boy was alive in the building but I don't see him here now. One of the SRU carried the boy out. I have one SRU officer here and conscious. I believe she was far enough away from the blast radius. Hold a moment."

He turned to Leah and asked "Your status and do you know the status of any of the others?"

Leah offered "No harm for me. I saw and checked Russ, Apollo, Cameo, Daphne, Winds, and Jules all alive but unconscious. I'm unsure of most of their injuries, although Russ had an injury to the back of his head. It also looked like a bullet wound in Cameo's leg. Greg was talking but hasn't spoken in a while, he's not responding. As you said Pawn is conscious injuries unknown. Ed and Spike are unconscious but they have a strong pulse. On my way to check on Wordy and Sam. I haven't seen the boy either."

Mason relayed the information as Leah moved to check on Wordy.

She noted that Wordy had made it furthest away from the building. He must have been first out and running very fast Leah thought. He was on his side, curled up tightly in a protective position with his back to the building. She smiled, smart man, protecting himself.

But as she got closer she saw Ben was cradled protectively in Wordy's arms. Ben was completely shielded by Wordy's position. Her heart warmed. Of course he's a dad with little girls, he would do all he could to protect the boy. She knelt and checked Wordy's pulse, strong and steady. She reached out to check Ben's pulse when the little boy's eyes fluttered open.

Leah smiled at Ben and said warmly and calmly "Well hello little one. I need you to stay very still. Can't you do that for me?"

Ben looked at the lady. He remembered her. She has the same uniform as Unca Sam. Ben said barely above a whisper "Yes."

Leah heard sirens in the distance; it wouldn't be long before they arrived now. "That's good, very good. People will be here soon to take care of you. Until then I need you to stay where you are and not move at all. Do you hurt anywhere?" Leah asked gently.

Ben said "un huh."

"Where do you hurt?" She asked.

Ben just started to cry.

Leah wished she could hug him but she knew not to move him. "Ssshhh it will be okay. Help is coming little one." She reached out and gently stroked his arm a few times.

He quieted a bit and the said "I want my mommy."

Leah wasn't quite sure what to say. She wanted to reassure but not make promises. Leah decided on "Your mommy will be with you when she can. People need to take care of you first. Okay?"

Ben nodded as tears puddled in his eyes.

Leah did not want to leave Ben but she needed to check Sam "I'll be right back, I just need to check on…"

She caught herself before she said Sam. This boy had latched onto him. If Sam was not alright she let her thoughts trail off and finished saying out loud to the boy "Remember don't move okay."

Ben nodded slightly. She brushed his arm once more then stood up.

Leah called out to Mason with Wordy's and Ben's details as she approached Sam. He lay on his right side. She came up to him at his back. She saw lots of blood in his hair and on his neck. She walked to the front of him to kneel down but didn't. She gasped and her stomach roiled. She bent overs holding her stomach taking short gasps of air trying not to upchuck. It didn't help. She was on her knees emptying her stomach contents.

She sat back on her heels and thought oh my god. She had seen her fair share of horrific accident scenes with blood saturated bodies in the worst possible states. She never lost it then, she was able to remain detached and professional. But it was something altogether different when it was someone you knew, someone you liked. Sam was drenched in so much blood. He was so pale.

Leah pulled it back together and remembered he had a wound to the arm. She saw the compression bandage around his right arm. That would not account for all this blood. Blood saturated the ground near his right side.

He had jumped on a concussion grenade. Would that cause this? She didn't know. She had never seen the effects of something like that. Internal injuries were very likely, bruising of organs at the very least. But all this blood?

She didn't see perceptible breathing and was afraid to take his pulse but she did. It was weak and thready, but it was there. Thank god it was there.

Leah called out his status to Mason in an unsteady voice. Then she sat back wishing she could do something but knew again she should not move him. She had no medical supplies to work with if the movement caused more bleeding.

Something in her head clicked. The sounds of that god awful howl and fight entered her head again. She gently probed his head, left arm, neck and knees without moving him the slightest bit.

No injuries. Leah finally concluded that most of this blood was not his. This was the blood of whoever he fought. That must have been terrible to be that close when you killed someone that you were drenched in their blood.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – CH-146 Griffon Helicopter Above Scene_**

Jeff took stock of the scene below. Shit it looked like a war zone with all the bodies on the ground and the flattened building. He saw two groups of people and two individuals.

He gave the commands that initiated his men, medics and other personal to rappel. The pilots had located a place to land close by. They would coordinate with the local EMS and transport as appropriate.

Jeff locked in and rappelled into the area with the most injured. His men would secure the area. The medics would do their job. His job was to locate Mason. Sutton said he was conscious.

* * *

 ** _Isolated Warehouse Complex – Outside South of Supply Building_**

Leah had been so lost in thought that she had not heard the approaching 'thub, thub, thub' sound until it was directly above her. She looked up surprised to find four Army CH-146 Griffon Helicopters above with lots of men rappelling from them.

After hanging up with Sutton, Mason had laid down to rest his head until help arrived. He had heard them as they approached several miles out. He waited until they were rappelling to sit back up. He saw Jeff and called out "Braddock."

Jeff raced over to Mason "Holy hell man, what the hell is going on?"

Mason waved him off "No time, Blondie is the worst off from what I can tell." He pointed to Sam.

Turn in that direction Jeff's face dropped as he saw Sam lying on the ground. He raced to him as he called for a medic.

Leah was startled when a man that looked a somewhat like Sam raced toward her. She barely scrambled out of the way as he barreled to his knees in from of Sam.

Jeff saw all the blood on his chest and images of Patch covered in Sam's blood and the aftermath of the last time he was shot sprinted through his mind. He battled to keep his composure and lost the war "Sam, oh god Sam, not again. God dammit not again."

He reached out and brushed Sam's cheek while he waited for the medic to arrive. "You cannot do this to us again. We thought we lost you before. Sam dammit. What am I gonna tell the family?"

Jeff finally registered that Sam was in full Army uniform. His concern flared into anger. There was one reason and one reason only Sam would be in uniform. He had sworn NEVER to wear it again. "What the hell did the General do or say to make you reactivate? You swore hell would have to freeze over before you did that. Dammit Sam why? Why?"

Leah was spellbound watching the man. She knew it was not her place to say anything. But as the medic moved him aside to work on Sam she said "Sam voluntarily reactivated to save a little boy. His friend Matt's little boy Ben."

Jeff stared at the woman. He registered she was SRU. "He did what for who?" Jeff said disbelievingly.

Leah explained. Jeff listened as he watched speechless as the medic assess and stabilized Sam for transport. Matt had a son? When? How?

Once they were moving Sam he came out of his self-imposed vacuum and directed the scene getting everyone the help they needed. The medics and EMS were fast and efficient.

Jeff was standing near where Sam had been laying when the last of the EMS transports left. He needed to leave instructions with a Sergeant Grey, regular Army on the clean-up. He was scanning looking for him. But he closed his eyes a moment trying to recompose. Horrific as this was it could have been so much worse.

His bomb expert had scanned the area and his initial report is that he believed that only two bombs did this. Well two very powerful bombs that also happened to set off all the C4 materials stored in both buildings. A full investigation would prove if his conclusions were correct.

Jeff opened his eyes and looked to where Sam had been. His vest had been discarded when the medic checked for injuries. He was so glad most of that blood had not been Sam's, only on the outside of the vest. His eyes landed on something small white and orange shoved into the small interior pocket. A place maps where often kept for easy access.

He tugged on it. Out popped a small well-worn Donald Duck. What the hell? Then the SRU woman's voice played in his head again ' _Sam reactivated to save Matt's little boy Ben._ ' Jeff put the duck in his pocket. Sam or the little boy would want it back.

Looking around again, Jeff located Grey and strode over. The faster he got this done the faster he could get to the hospital and get word on Sam. He dreaded being the one to notify the family. Maybe he could call his dad and let him pass the word.

No one was gonna be happy with Sam. Jeff cringed slightly thinking about how many people were going to lay into him for re-upping. There would be a long line all the way out the door. It was a stupid decision that nearly cost him his life.

Jeff put his hand in his pocket and felt the duck. Well maybe not such a stupid decision given whose son it was. But Sam was going to pay a high price for it. The SF stop-loss committee was not going to let him go. Too many had been lost and injured lately.

They were churning out recruits as fast as they could to replace them. But it wasn't a simple or fast training program. Some standards had been relaxed to his displeasure.

Hell he would have kept one Corporal Stefano Xenos, aka Apollo, for a second cycle to disabuse him of his rash behaviors but he was ordered to pass him. The kid was good, almost broke Sam's records but he was too uncontrolled.

He saw Apollo here today. He hoped the kid was okay. Jeff was glad he was assigned to Mason, he should be able to squash that behavior before he got someone killed.

Jeff spoke with Grey then gathered his men. "Guys, we grab the weapons and SRU gear, backtrack to where the unit and SRU left the vehicles. We drop the SRU SUV's at their HQ then back to base. Any questions?"

A Corporal asked "Sir. If this was terrorist related why was SRU involved?"

Jeff wanted to know the same damned thing but only said "Need to know basis. Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Enroute to SRU HQ_**

As they drove to SRU HQ Jeff reported in "Sir. Scene handed off to Sergeant Grey. All SRU injured transported to St. Simons. All JFT2 were air-lifted to the base hospital. No injuries appear to be life threating. The most serious are Master Warrant Officer Simons, Winds, with heat stroke. Corporal Tristen Parsons, Cameo, with a bullet wound to the thigh. Master Corporal Sam Braddock with knife wounds to his arm and side. All others seem to be various smaller injuries, cuts, contusions, etc. from being thrown in the shockwave. Most were conscious before leaving the scene and likely have concussions."

 _["Daphne and the boy?" Sutton inquired.]_

"Both conscious and coherent before leaving the scene" Jeff replied.

 _["Good. Need you to head to St. Simon instead of back to base. Need you to coordinate relocation of Captain Blain and his team to the base hospital. If Captain Blain is awake I need you to brief him on the situation."]_

"Sir?" Jeff was thinking why me, why me? God dammit I don't want to be the one to tell Blaze, Sam re-upped. Bad enough I have to tell the cousins. Hell I don't even want to be in the same Province or same Continent when Blaze finds out.

 _["It is of a personal importance to him, you see Daphne is his sister" Sutton explained even though he did not have to.]_

Jeff's eyes widened and mouth hung open, Leah said nothing about that when she related what she knew. The Corporal driving wondered just what the Colonel said to the Drill Sergeant "Willco. Can I just tell him she is safe and leave the rest for when he is at base?"

 _["Full report, if he is wake to hear it." Sutton knew he was passing the buck. Hell the General had just passed it to him. So if the General could do it, so could he._

 _He didn't want to be anywhere near Captain Blain when he found out. He wasn't called Blaze for no reason. If anyone could handle him it would be Drill Sergeant Braddock.]_

"Willco" Jeff sighed and thought he might just need his own Dragonfire rescue when Blaze got done exploding.


	17. Some Explosions Are Necessary

**Some Explosions Are Necessary**

* * *

 ** _Six Weeks Later – SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

It was a sullen, disconnected group of people that were gathered in the briefing room. Leo Patel the newest rookie on Team One stood at the entrance of the room completely disheartened. Team One was supposed to be the team to strive for or so he had been told. But the team he had been a part of for the past three weeks was nothing like he had expected or been led to believe.

When it was announced there was an opening on the team, his new boss at Toronto Metro Police said he should try for it. He said that SRU could use his skills since they were replacing a sniper position. Most of the job sounded like something he could do, the part of negotiation he wasn't so sure but his boss said they would help with that. They were Team One after all.

So he applied thinking it would be nice to use his sniper skills again. They were a bit rusty with disuse in the past five years. By everything everyone told him he had been looking forward to the selection process and meeting the team. But Team One was off duty for some reason so Team Five had run the trails and selected him for them.

His first day on the team was their first day back after three weeks off. Leah had been nice enough and welcoming but the others did not give him the time of day. In the past three weeks they weren't rude per se and treated him professionally for the most part but they refused to open up in any way.

They were all closed off. They didn't ask any questions about him or try to get to know him in any way, shape or form. They didn't talk much to one another either. They only gave succinct and curt answers to each other.

It made calls awkward and sometimes made things go sideways. He had heard they were so in synch that they could predict what the others needed. Leo hadn't seen any of that.

Leo had also been told that the team laughed a lot; that they joked around all the time. But his TL, Ed and the tech/bomb guy Spike never spoke to one another unless absolutely necessary. Frequently he had noticed that one or the other would glare daggers at the other's back. It was like they blamed each other for something.

The bomb call last week had been awful. Those two had argued so long and heatedly about whether Spike would go in and disable it that the bomb in the donation box exploded. He was damned glad no one was hurt. But those two, Christ that was no way to work, no unity, that would get someone killed one day.

The other teams had said that Wordy would intercede and play peacemaker when troubles began. But all Leo saw was an angry man. He usually sat clenching and unclenching his fists looking like he wanted to punch something. If he was not doing that he would just stare out the window.

Yesterday Leo saw Wordy go to the small table in the corner of the briefing room and swipe the entire chessboard of pieces to the floor. It had looked like someone was mid game; they would not be happy when they saw that. So, Wordy was not so much peacemaker in Leo's eyes.

Jules the negotiator, profiler and sniper lost her cool a lot. She would get irate at the drop of a hat. He gave her wide berth and never practiced combat skills with her since she had nearly wrenched his shoulder out of joint his first week here.

She never hit him but it sure the hell looked like she wanted to. Jules, Spike, Wordy and Ed were very angry people. She and Ed always argued over whether she was the sniper for a call. She always insisted, he always denied. That confused him that she always asked, wasn't he hired to be the sniper. Strange, very strange.

Leo had heard her negotiation skills were very good and intuitive. But all he saw was someone that wanted to be the one in the sniper position. She seemed not to care about the negotiations and profiling side. She did it but never seemed happy about it even when she talked someone down; which she normally did. Those rare times she wasn't successful she became even more sullen.

In fact, she had completely lost it after a call earlier this week where she couldn't get through to a soldier and he jumped from the overpass and committed suicide because he was ordered to go back to Afghanistan. She had actually run away from the scene. None of the guys went after her and told him to just leave her alone when he wanted to follow.

When they got back to the barn they found her beating the heavy bag nearly to death. The guys just walked away and didn't even intercede or say anything to her. It was bizarre to watch. They cared so little that their team mate was upset by the death. He had tried to say something but she had ignored him completely.

The Sarge was the worst. He just looked desolate most the time. Like someone had blown his life a part. He tended to just defer to whatever the TL suggested in a call and let the TL take over.

Leo wasn't sure what was up with that. The other teams seemed to have strong leaders who had no problems making decisions. From what he saw, it looked like Team One didn't have one.

So very different from what he was expecting by accounts he heard. This man was supposed to be great, hell Parker wrote the manual he had read on negotiations. But Leo saw none of that man in his time here. Parker was completely disconnected from the team and as a result there was no cohesion in the team.

Leah although nice at first didn't say much either but she was essentially as new as he was. Probably was as disillusioned with the team as he was. He thought they would have that in common at least and bond.

But she looked sad often like something treasured had burnt to the ground and would never be again. She kept to herself and rarely offered any input at all. It was like she didn't really exist on the team.

Leo had only transferred from the Vancouver Metro Police to the Toronto Police two months ago. He didn't know the team but many people had talked about Team One being so good because they were a tight knit team and always had each other's backs.

That's not what he saw.

The team was apathetic at best and fractious at worst. Maybe it was the loss of two team members in the span of two and a half months was enough to destroy the team everyone had lauded. They had lost one to death and one to reasons he didn't know.

Leo did know that the one who died was named Lewis Young and he was killed by a landmine explosion; he had a plaque in the locker room. They talked about him once or twice. Leo saw they wore bracelets with the guy's name and badge number on them.

Spike had a habit of twisting it around and rubbing the name when he thought no one was watching. Dale from Team Five had said Spike and Lou were very good friends. Understandable they all still missed him.

But the other guy, the one he replaced, no one talked about at all. He was just here one day and gone the next from what little he could gather. Leo had tried to find out what happened.

Maybe try to build a connection with a new team that way. But no one, not even the other teams wanted to talk about it. Other teams either ignored his questions completely or told him to ask his own team.

Leo had done a little research of his own and he thought it might have something to do with that huge explosion and mass killing six weeks ago. The timing was about right. The details were sketchy but he knew that Team One was somehow involved by little tidbits dropped here and there by his team and Team Five.

The news had a field day with a mass killing at a house and then the explosion that day. Although most of it was totally wild speculation, no real information was ever reported. The news portrayed the mass killing as a lone deranged person with an automatic weapon that started firing at a party and they blamed the explosion on a gas leak.

But there were a few amateur videos on the web showing the Army at the scene of the mass killing and Army helo's flying near the explosion. They had since been removed like they never existed.

He saw them so he knew the news reports on those incidents were a crock of bullshit, as it usually was. He was well aware of how the Army covered things up. It was most likely terrorist related but the military would never report that and scare the civilians. Civilians never knew how close the threats really were. He just wondered why SRU would be involved with something of a military nature.

But even that didn't explain why the guy left so suddenly. It was so weird that no one ever said his name or even acknowledged he had existed. Leo wondered what the guy had done to be hated so badly that no one would even mention his name, he thought it was Sam.

It must have been something unforgivable given they acted like he didn't even exist. Maybe he betrayed them. Maybe he was a complete jerk and had crossed the line somehow. Maybe they were just glad to be rid of him and wanted bad memories gone. But he knew he would never know, leastwise not directly from the team.

Leo learned his lesson the hard way to never ask about that Sam guy after the final time he had tried to find why he was gone was last week. The reactions clearly told him the team would never tell him.

He, Wordy, Spike and Ed were changing for workout. When he had asked 'So what did that Sam guy do that was so bad you guys can't stand to talk about him. I mean if you won't talk about him he must have been a real SOB or a worthless piece of shit. Did he fail to watch your backs, did he fuck up and get an innocent killed or did he kill someone?'

His TL had flown into a rage and rammed him into a locker before he had even finished his last sentence. Ed was less than an inch from his face when he bellowed telling him to 'mind his own god damned business'. By the look in the TL's eyes he had really thought he was dead.

Spike and Wordy both glared at him too like 'how dare he say his name'. Ed and Wordy had stormed off. He had followed them out of the room and saw Wordy punching furiously on the heavy bag. Ed was nowhere to be seen but he heard the door to the roof slam.

All that anger directed at one man. They clearly would never talk about him. Leo thought to where he was cut off. Ed went ballistic when he said did he kill someone. He wondered if maybe the guy was responsible for all those deaths at the house.

Maybe he snapped and was that lone deranged person. Police snapped sometimes, that could be a reason. If so maybe they couldn't forgive him?

Leo laughed at himself and thought, man talk about wild-assed speculations. He might make a good TV reporter if he kept this up. He dropped the thought. Whatever the reason was they couldn't stand to hear his name so he stopped trying to figure it out.

After following Ed and Wordy out, Leo had realized he had forgotten his towel so had gone back into the locker room. He had found Spike with his head and hand on a locker, much like he had found him doing to Lou's locker on occasion.

When Spike noticed him watching, Spike sped out of the locker room and wasn't seen for two hours. Spike later claimed he was working on Babycakes but his knuckles were raw and his eyes looked puffy when he returned. It was peculiar to say the least.

After shift that day he had gotten curious about the locker. It wasn't assigned to anyone but it was locked. He had tried to open it his first day because it was in the same row as the rest of the team. But it was locked and someone from Team Five had only said, pick another one. He had been around long enough to meet all of the other teams and it was no one's locker. Why was it locked and why was Spike leaning on it?

When everyone was gone he went into the locker room and looked at it. It seemed ordinary like all the others. He sat on the bench and stared a bit when he saw a very tiny slip of paper sticking out from the vent where Spike's hand had been. He couldn't get it with his fingers so he grabbed a pin from the bulletin board and worked it out. It read 'I know you did it for Ben'. It was an odd note.

Since that day he had watched and seen each and every one of the team covertly touch the locker at some point, even Jules. He saw a few members from other teams do the same thing. He could see that little slips of paper were piling up on the bottom.

It was beyond weird and he was tempted to pick the lock and read them. But then he refrained thinking maybe it was an SRU ritual that no one had shared with him yet. Like a burn box, where you wrote down a thought you wanted to release and put it in the box. When the box was full you would burn it. Maybe this was the SRU's burn box of sorts.

He sighed looking at the team in the briefing room. He didn't understand this team and they clearly didn't care if he did or not. Leo felt completely unwanted by them, maybe if they had done the selection it would be different. But this team truly had some real issues and was totally dysfunctional.

Well to be honest, it wasn't really a team with the way they treated each other. They were just disconnected parts. He had no clue what had unglued them, probably never would and quite frankly he was tired of trying. He only knew that it was not what he expected and not what he wanted.

Leo looked down at the file in his hand. Yeah he was gonna do this. He couldn't take being with such a screwed up team anymore. He was leaving SRU and returning to the Army. They were offering a special recall package for anyone who wanted to return to Special Forces. He had been out for nearly five years but he still qualified.

He thought he would never go back, but, yeah the Army was actually a better fit for him. It was more black and white were you just had bad guys and you dealt with them one way only.

Leo hated the desert but anything would be better than staying with this team really. Hey maybe that is why the Sam guy left, maybe he couldn't put up with their crap either. Leo missed the camaraderie in a SF unit. You knew they always had your back unlike with this team.

One deep breath, all he had to do was tell the Sarge and the team today. He had already talked to the Commander. Holleran had tried very hard to talk him out of it and to give the team a chance. Heck the Commander had an almost sick look in his eye when he told him that the reason he was leaving was he was returning to SF and that he was going to tell the team today.

He wasn't sure what Holleran's look meant. He was really crappy at reading people. He tried but six out of ten times he was usually wrong. That was probably another really good reason to go back to the military; no need to do that there. In the military all he had to do was follow orders and just point and shoot. He was really good at that.

The Commander told him to wait until after shift because the team would be starting a three day off rotation. It would give them time to process the news before returning to work. He had almost snorted when the Commander said that.

Like this team would even care or notice he left. Leo had planned to stay on for the two weeks after notice but the Commander said it would be better to just tell then go. He would give him paid vacation. He thought sweet, some time to take a quick trip before reporting to the base.

Team Five had just left for a hot call and Team One had just finished debriefing after a relatively quiet shift and he had asked them to wait while he got something from his locker. Everyone but Leah had waited. Leah said she was due at a friend's bridal shower so had left right after debrief was over. He looked down at his file again.

Leo had contemplated how to tell them and thought he would just hand the file to the Sarge and walk out. But the more he had thought about how they treated him and each other the more he wanted to tell them exactly how he felt. With Team Five gone, Team One and Winnie were the only ones in the building.

He decided they would get an earful from him then he would leave. There was no good reason for the way they behaved. Time to tell this uncaring, angry, disconnected, dysfunctional team, adios.

Leo stepped into the briefing room and cleared his throat. "Sarge, I have something I need to tell you. To tell the team."

Everyone looked at him blandly. Greg said flatly "Yes, go on."

He handed Greg the file as he said "I'm giving you the courtesy to tell you I'm leaving. Not that any of you would have even noticed if I didn't show up to the next shift. I don't know what happened to you all. Nor do I really care at this point. No one will talk about whatever happened and I'm tired of being treated like an outsider."

"This is not the team I was led to believe Team One was. You are dysfunctional and at each other's throats. I can't work with a team like that. Hell, you in no way even resemble a team. You are all so caught up in your own angry, pathetic worlds. So I'm leaving effective now. This was my last shift. I've voluntarily reactivated to full duty and rejoined Special Forces."

It was dead silent and they all looked at him blankly. Yep that was what he thought. They were a sullen group that didn't give a damn about anyone. He could be laying on the floor bleeding to death and they'd walk over him and not give him a second glance.

Leo was about to turn and leave knowing he wouldn't even get a goodbye, a good luck, a sorry to see you go or even a don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out comment. Nope silence was what he expected. He dropped his head, closed his eyes and sighed then started to turn.

A cacophony of sounds rent the air as every single one of the team including the Sarge started shouting at once. His eyes burst open wide. Shattered shards flew in every direction as Greg, Wordy and Ed all slammed their ceramic coffee mug onto the table. Three chairs were thrown; Leo dove to the side and ended up on the floor to avoid one. It wasn't necessarily thrown at him he was just in the line of fire.

His wide unbelieving eyes watched as five elite police officers wholly dissolved before his eyes. What the hell had he said to cause this? It was harsh, it was true but this reaction was not what Leo expected.

Ed and Spike were in each other's face and bellowing something about being down range. Hell Ed just pushed Spike and he pushed back. They were finally going to come to blows by the look of it.

Wordy was punching the concrete wall bloodying his fists but not stopping.

Jules had crashed to the floor tears coursing from her eyes as she beat the holy living crap out of the back of one of the overturned chairs.

Sarge stormed back and forth five steps each way rubbing his head and face and yelling something about did it again.

He picked out sounds here and there Sam, bomb, Ben, failed him, voluntary, gone, rebuild, abandoned among a plethora of curse words.

Holy Shit!

Wordy double punched the briefing room glass partition. The shattering noise as the entire plate glass wall crashed to the ground out leveled the volume of the all the shouting. Everyone stopped and looked at Wordy's back.

The silence was just as unnerving as all the ranting and raving. After a few seconds Wordy turned back towards the room towards the team. He looked up from his arms which were bent at the elbows and held out in front of him "Guys, help me."

Wordy started to sink to the floor as all four rushed to him. Ed and Greg guided him into a chair while Spike and Jules each grabbed onto an arm and squeezed tightly. Greg and Ed each whipped out a compression bandage. Greg called out "Winnie, EMS now. Officer with laceration wounds to the arms."

All four worked together to stem the blood from the multiple cuts to his arms. As he was being tended Wordy looked over to Leo with true concern and regret on his face "I'm sorry we screwed up big time." He paused and looked at the four others and said "Again."

They all nodded.

Greg walked over to Leo and offered a hand up to him. Leo took it and stood up, his eyes still wary and said cautiously "What the hell just happened?"

Leo was still so unsettled by their reactions that he went willingly as Greg guided him to a chair and gently pushed him into it.

Greg said "Wordy's right we royally messed up. Please wait while we take care of Wordy. I promise to explain. Will you wait?"

Still shocked Leo only nodded.

He watched as the five of them talked softly. He could not hear them. But it was a complete change of body language than he had seen for the past three weeks.

EMS showed up. "Hey guys, was just down the street a bit when the call came in. My partner is still wrapping up a non-emergency so I thought I'd see…" Jim took in the state of the room, the shattered glass wall and Wordy. "What the hell did you do Wordy?" Jim asked as he set down his kit.

Spike piped up "The glass attacked him."

Jim snorted as he saw the bloody knuckles too "The concrete wall too?"

Spike said "Yeah it didn't like his choice of movie. It wanted to watch Sleeping Beauty again."

Everyone groaned as Spike's attempt at humor fell flat this time.

Jim shook his head; he was pretty sure what really happened. He's been considering doing it for weeks himself but could not afford the time off if he broke his hand when he exploded. He knew it was coming he was just trying to stave it off for now, but it was coming he could feel it rising daily.

It was a pain so deep only anger or complete detachment kept it at bay. He was going for more detachment than anger though. He stayed more often than not in medic mode where feelings didn't touch him. But just the right or wrong word would be the lit match to ignite his explosion.

Jim looked right into Wordy's eyes and said "Sam? Right?"

Wordy said apologetically "Yeah, I got mad. Finally lost control completely."

Jim nodded "Understandable. From the looks of things in here you all did. Been really wanting to myself. I take it you still haven't heard from Sam either."

They all answered loudly with deep frustration and worry "No."

Jim looked at Greg and with the same frustrated inflection in his tone "Damn I was hoping someone had. Neither has Blaze, Winds, Mason or any of his cousins, not even Scott or Jeff. No one knows where he is at. It's like he fell off the face of the earth. Blaze, Winds and Mason have tried everyone and everything they know to locate him. They are pissed at the General. The General refuses to tell anyone Sam's location."

Jules rose now that Jim was working on the arm she had been holding. Leo watched her sadly walk to the window.

She laid her forehead against the window as she said despondently "Sam, we are falling apart without you. I'm falling apart. I need you Sam."

Jules was quiet a moment then she breathed out one soft word imbued with unfathomable longing and need "Sam."

Leo saw as Ed hurried over to her and gently pulled her into a tight hug. She did not resist. She did not strike him. She simply laid her head on his chest and allowed him to hold her.

From across the room Spike said gently with falseness to his optimism "Jules, Sam is going to be okay. Remember, he's Samatastic."

Leo heard Jules begin to sob lightly.

Greg and Spike put their hands on Wordy's shoulders in a gesture of solidarity to try and add credence to Spike's words as they nodded. But all three had shimmering wet eyes as they looked to Ed and Jules across the room. Hell, the shimmering turned to real tears in Spike and they slid unchecked down Spike's face.

Wordy looked up at Spike "Buddy, he'll be back, he's not gone like Lou. Sam wouldn't just leave you, Jules, us. He'll be back when he can."

Spike squatted down, then sat heavily and buried his face in his hands. He broke down. All false bravado left as he cried out in anguish "We don't even know if he survived the knife wounds. Hell he didn't even tell Ed and me about the one in his side."

"He cleared that whole basement bleeding out. Then he jumped on that grenade. Then Mason had to carry him out before we even knew what sort of damage was done. Then the damned building blew, threw him and slammed him to the ground again. We were never told the extent of his injuries. God dammit I know he did it to save Ben but ..." He stopped.

Spike took several shaky breaths his voice switching to anger "The General has said nothing, nothing at all one way or the other. He never returned a single message I left. It's like Sam never existed. I've looked. I've tried to find him. He saved Ben but what about him, who has his back now? What if he is out there and hurt or dying all alone?" His voice cracked and cried out in agony "What if he is dead already and we don't even know it."

At Spike's words Leo noticed that the sobbing increased in Jules. Ed held her more tightly and Ed's eyes appeared to glisten with unshed tears now too. This was too surreal Leo thought. Who the hell are these people? Certainly not the ones I've been with for the past three weeks.

Leo's head pivoted back to the other side as Greg went to Spike, knelt down and held him as he cried. Greg said softly "I'm sure the General would tell us if he didn't make it. You know how much he cares for Sam. He knows what Sam means to us too."

The paramedic spoke up, his voice filled with emotion too "It's been six weeks of hell for all of us. Christ they wouldn't even let Winds or Mason see him at the hospital after surgery. Eight MPs were needed to restrain them, would have needed more but they were weak from their own injuries." There were shocked gasps.

Ed stated "We didn't even know that."

Jim nodded then continued "Yeah that was bad but not as bad as Blaze."

Greg asked "What happened? We have had no word from anyone."

Jim finished wrapping Wordy's knuckles then said "Wordy you're lucky man just lots of cuts but none so deep to require stitches. Keep them clean and dry and they will heal."

Wordy nodded then said "What happened with Blaze?"

Jim stood and they could see he cringed and didn't really want to tell them. He looked at all of them, then reluctantly said "Well, I was there when Jeff told Blaze that Sam reactivated. Blaze raged so much that he scared the holy living crap out of every doctor, nurse and patient on that floor. They called security and he even scared them."

"Jeff and I were sent in to give him the sedative. Everyone else was too frightened. He had ripped out the IV and had tried to stand. But that was impossible given his injuries. That enraged him more."

"I managed to injected the sedative while Jeff held him down. It took nearly three minutes for it to take effect. Blaze raged the entire time. The hospital insisted he remain completely sedated until he was transferred. That took three days until he was stable enough to move."

"Mason told me that when they got him to the base hospital and let him come out of it he raged again. This time he managed somehow to stand. He ripped open nearly all his stitches. They had to keep him in a twilight sleep for nearly a week to ensure he didn't do it again."

"The next time they woke him they had Daphne and Ben in the room. He started to rage but saw Ben and Ben said Unca Sam saved him. Mason said there wasn't a dry eye in that room as Blaze hugged Ben and Daphne."

"But the absolute worst thing is that General came to check on Blaze about a week ago. The General refused point blank to answer a single question about Sam. Blaze was sitting up in bed and the General sat in a chair close by. Blaze raged at the General."

"Then he landed a left and a right punch to the General's face. The General didn't move at all. He sat there and took it as Blaze punched him twice more. After the four punches the General rose and left the room without ever saying anything."

Jim's face showed the deep concern he felt as he concluded "Blaze has not said a single word to anyone since. Not even Ben. He will hold the boy but won't speak. It's very disturbing."

Leo was absorbed watching the changing looks on the teams' faces. Jules had quit crying and pulled away from Ed as the medic had related the story. All were left with incredulous looks.

Ed growled out "What the hell is going on? What the hell is the General doing? Hasn't Sam suffered enough already. You should have seen his eyes when he realized he killed the man that tortured him. He was so very confused. He was so F.I.N.E."

Jim's eyes widened, his jaw slackened, his mouth opened and closed several times before he finally pushed words out "Blondie did what?"

Jim did not believe what he had just heard. Ed relayed to Jim what happened in the tunnel. Jim had righted a chair and sat down his legs to wobbly to hold him upright.

Spike added "His eyes, we all know they speak volumes. Sam was really bothered by something as he looked at the dead man. I'm not sure what it was but it scared me for him. Ed's right Sam was so F.I.N.E."

His voice crackled with emotion as Spike added "I'm afraid the Sam is going to break. That he is going to fall and no one will be there to catch him or hold on. Part of me wonders if maybe that is why the General hasn't said anything. Maybe Sam finally couldn't handle anymore and broke totally and completely."

The entire team, the medic and Leo sat in absolute silence. No one knowing what to say, how to respond to Spike's comment.

Jim stood and walked to the bloody concrete wall and traced where Wordy had hit. His fists clenched tightly as he raised his arms to a punching position. His body was rigid.

Greg walked up to Jim and laid a hand on his shoulder. Ed stood and walked over too followed by Jules, Spike and Wordy. They surrounded Jim.

They dropped to their knees as Jim fell to his and howled loud and long repeatedly "Nooooo."

Greg pulled the man's head to his chest and held him. They closed ranks and huddled around the man with arms slung across each other's shoulders.

Leo wondered what the hell was going on. He must really, really, really suck at reading people. These were not actions of people who hated someone. He reviewed the past three weeks applying this new information.

They cared for this Sam guy. These people were hurting deeply and repressing the feelings. Somehow his words had opened a floodgate tonight and released them all in a blind fury. But which words?

Then as the initial shock of everything wore off little bits and pieces fell into place. He knew these names. It had been a very long time, nearly five years. He knew Blaze, Winds, and Mason by code name only, he never met them but he knew they were JTF2. Christ the General they were talking about had to be General Braddock.

Leo knew the General's son had been held captive and tortured. He was in the base hospital ER getting a cut stitched up when they brought him in that day. From what he had overheard as Dr. Parker had directed his care the General's son had been more dead than alive.

Oh my god that's why the paramedic looked so familiar. He was with him that day. Holy hell that meant the Sam guy he replaced was Sam Braddock, the General's son. He had more questions than answers now. Just what the hell was going on?

Jim had finally quieted but the team had remained in place for over ten minutes no one moving a muscle. Jim finally shifted a bit and raised his totally blood shot, red rimmed, tear filled eyes and looked at all the team. They ended on Wordy.

Wordy broke the silence his voice soft but resolute "If he is broken we will rebuild him again. We did it once. We can do it again."

Jules said softly as she slumped to the floor "But we have to find him first."


	18. Rest Well Son I'm Here If You Need Me

**Rest Well Son, I'm Here If You Need Me**

* * *

 ** _Day of Mission – Military Aircraft Enroute to Toronto – Mid-flight Six Hours til Landing_**

For the second time in less than two years he was striding up and down the aisle of the aircraft scaring the wits out of some of his staff. Others were used to his fury. At least this time he was not bellowing at the pilots or staff. He was just very pissed off and they could feel it coming off him in waves.

However, in his mind he was bellowing. Why the hell I'm I always so far away when he is hurt? Why can't these things fly faster? Why hadn't Sutton called with an update? What the hell made Samuel position this as a Priority 1? What did Samuel know that made it a Priority 1?

He had his analyst determine which files Samuel had accessed. He only accessed Mousa and seven of his suspected and known associates. They had not seen a link in any of it that would make this a Priority 1.

Yes, Mousa was the suspected head behind all the attacks on the units in the past three months but that alone would not make it a Priority 1. But he trusted his son. If he called it, then it was so.

His phone rang. About damned time, he continued to stride up and down the aisle as he answered "Braddock."

 _["Sir. Sutton. The scene has been secured. All evidence collected and bodies that could be identified have been. Not many though, there was basically nothing left of the buildings and most were beyond recognition. Cover story is gas explosion for the buildings and a lone deranged gunman for the safe house incident."]_

General Braddock stated "That lone gunmen story will not hold water to well. My staff tech team has already found and deleted dozens of amateur videos from the web. Sometimes I hate the internet, makes our job so much harder to not panic the public. Status on the personnel?"

 _[Sutton started with the status of the personnel "Priority 1 protocol initiated. All have been secluded and separated. Debrief teams activated. They have begun the interview processes with those that are conscious. I will send you the reports as they become available."_

 _"Winds is conscious and doing well. Corporal Parsons, goes by Cameo, is in ICU. Surgery went well but the bullet caused a fracture of his femur. He will need several more surgeries to place plates and screws. Only time and rehab will tell if this young man's career in JTF2 is over."_

 _Sutton then detailed the injuries of each unit and SRU team member before getting to the one he knew the General was most concerned about._

" _Braddock was being moved to recovery as I called you. I waited until I had news of the outcome before contacting you. The doctor indicates that surgery went well. They will move him to ICU shortly."_

 _"The doctor said the knife wound to the arm missed major muscles, tendons and nerves. He also reported the knife wound to the abdomen did not do major damage to organs. It did penetrate the liver but they were able to repair the minor damage. He did require a blood transfusion, lost quite a bit due to both wounds."_

" _The concussion grenade did some damage. Bruised his lungs a bit but they did not have to intubate. He is on oxygen to assist right now. He cracked three ribs, but none broken. CT scan shows concussion like the rest of the group."_

 _"None of them got away without that. The blast was so hard. As usual he is very colorful, lots of bruising to the chest, back, arms, and face. The doctor says he is in stable condition."_

" _But Sir, there is one more thing to report regarding Braddock. There is significant bruising around his neck. He was choked very hard. He was with Corporal Xenos, call sign Apollo, and Ed Lane. We will be interviewing them to determine what occurred."]_

The General directed "Sutton, no one is to be allowed into Braddock's room until I arrive. He is to be fully sedated as well. We all know his reaction to hospitals. But this is more in relation to the Priority 1 he called. There is to be no contact with him other than vetted medical personnel. Is that understood?"

 _["Clearly Sir. Going to have to call the MPs I think. Winds and Mason are already clamoring to see him. Sir, am I allowed to give them health status of Braddock at least?" Sutton was hoping that the General would say yes knowing how Mason and Winds would react to complete blackout.]_

He hated to do this but William answered "No. It must be a complete blackout from this point forward. We have no idea what information he possess and it could make him a target. The fewer people that know his status the safer he is. Assign Braddock a code name for all future communications. If anything changes notify me. ETA seven hours."

 _["Willco" Sutton responded._

 _He hated to do this to the unit men. They had been Sam's salvation when he was in JTF2. Hell he hated to do this to Sam's SRU team too. But it was necessary. Sam had called a Priority 1.]_

"Tom" William said with the barest hint of emotion not detectable by those other than his closest friends.

 _[Tom heard the inflection in William's voice. Damn he is always so far away when that boy is injured. He was alone in his office so he replied_ " _Will, your boy is a tough one. He'll be okay."]_

General Braddock was surrounded by staff and he could not say what he wanted to say. He wanted to say keep my boy safe, don't let anyone hurt him more, he has been through too much pain in his life. He wanted too but he couldn't. Briskly he said "Keep to blackout protocol."

 _["Understood. I'll keep him safe until you arrive. I've got his six. If you need an update just call. I'll know why you are calling" Tom offered._

 _Sutton knew his friend was hurting and needed to release some tension before he exploded. An idea slipped into his head. They had laughed long and hard about it a few years ago._

 _He said "Code name established. Sending separately. If anything changes or we get useful info I'll be in touch."]_

The General hung up and stopped pacing. He sat for the first time in seven hours. He was exhausted. So many people are going to be pissed at him. But he had no choice, none what so ever. Samuel had called the Priority 1. It required blackout protocols.

His phone pinged. He looked at the message knowing it was the code name for his son. He startled his entire staff when he burst out laughing. Damn Sutton, he liked his sense of humor. The message simply read 'Hell-Froze'.

A bit of the tension he had been holding since Samuel reactivated slipped away. He really should sleep but he called his analyst over. They began to discuss various possible connections or reasons for the Priority 1.

* * *

 ** _Day of Mission – Two Hours After Surgery – SF Base Hospital ICU Bay 4_**

Sam was out of practice, he had let go of many of his soldier habits and stealth awake was one of them. But today's incidents kicked in his instinct. He identified the scent of disinfectant mixed with fake pine and it alerted his brain he was in an Army hospital. To him they had a distinct odor. He kept his breathing regular and eyes closed and he tried to assess his situation.

Physically he felt like he had been thrown into a tumble dryer with a load of large rocks and spun around for hours. Absolutely everything hurt. He moved his hand slightly. Even his pinkie hurt. There was a deep burning pain in his right side. His right arm throbbed in pain at each heartbeat. He tried to open his eyes and only succeeded in getting them to open a fraction of a second before they closed. They were too heavy.

He was alive. He hurt too much to be dead. He was fully prepared to give his life for Ben's and that's the last thought he had. But he wasn't dead.

No the pain was too intense to be dead. Unless he was in hell. He thought that is quite possible with how much it hurt and how many people he had killed in his life.

Then he remembered he was no longer just a killer. He had become a murderer. He had killed in cold blood, with malice and hatred flowing through him. He had planned long and in great detail how he would kill the bastard. Then he did. The opportunity arose and he deliberately and with something akin to joy slit the bastard's throat.

He was in terrible pain physically but excruciating pain emotionally. He wanted to die. He couldn't live with himself knowing he had crossed the line.

It was a fine one given his work but it was a line nonetheless. Why couldn't the grenade have killed me? Then no one would ever know what he had become, what he did.

Wait, Ed would know, he was there. He saw him commit murder. Oh god, Ed saw. Is that why he attacked Ed? This hurts too much. Just let me die. Please just let me die. A pain filled moan escaped him as he drifted out of consciousness.

The nurse noted the movements in her patient. That couldn't be. No way could he attain a waking state. She called the doctor and reported it and was told to up the dosage. She complied.

* * *

 ** _Three Hours After Surgery – SF Base Hospital ICU Bay 4_**

He became aware of his surroundings slowly. Someone was near him. He tried to move but his limbs felt numb and heavy. He hurt so badly. He heard the beeping. Must be in a hospital.

Sam moaned as he forced opened his eyes half way. He wanted to ask the person where he was and tell them that he hurt. But speech was beyond him right now. He made brief eye contact just before a burning pain in his side crested. He slipped away.

This was not normal the nurse noted. Again she called the doctor. Again he said to up the dosages. As she did so she thought this is enough to down a friggin elephant.

* * *

 ** _Five Hours After Surgery – SF Base Hospital ICU Bay 4_**

Pain, he felt pain; so much pain, unbearable pain. It would not go away it was unrelenting. He could not think clearly.

Time did not have meaning all he felt was pain. He wanted so badly to open his eyes but he couldn't make them follow his command. He wanted someone to take the pain away. Please take the pain away. Why didn't they take the pain away? Make it go away, it hurts too much.

The nurse had been watching closely for hours. She was frustrated. She had maxed out on the dosages she could give him. She had kept the doctor apprised. He had changed meds two hours ago but still the soldier was getting no relief.

This poor soldier was definitely in pain and how the hell he kept waking up she didn't know. This was the tenth time in the last three hours. He no longer opened his eyes but she could tell by the way his muscles tensed, the slight movements of his head and eyelids. And of course the pitiful soft moans.

Sam heard a soft feminine voice "Ssshhh I know you are in pain. Try to relax. There is nothing more I can give you right now. Sssshhhh."

He wasn't even aware anyone was near him. Did he imagine it? He moaned.

"Ssshhh I'll be right back" the voice said.

The nurse had enough of being ineffective she was going to find that damned doctor and drag him in here and show him his patient was awake and in pain. What he had prescribed just was not working.

No idea how long it had been, pain distorted time for him, but Sam heard two voices. Then they slipped away as another flood of pain drowned him again.

"I gave him the doses you instructed doctor but he is still waking and he is still in pain. The sedatives are not working like they should be, nor are the pain meds. Just look at his face. You can tell he is in pain. He moans occasionally too" the nurse said clearly concerned and frustrated.

The doctor took the charts and looked them over. He absolutely hated blackout cases. He had no access to medical records because he did not know who the patient was. So he was flying blind with this soldier's medical history.

Obviously these medications were not working. He had prescribed the max dosages and anymore would suppress his breathing. With the bruised lungs he could not risk that. He had tried a different pain med but it too was not working. Changing to something else again would be another blind stab in the dark.

By the looks of this soldier he had been injured multiple times. Many were much more severe than what he was dealing with now. Someone must have figured out the right combo of meds to help him. But he needed the soldier's medical file to find out.

He was told not call unless it was dire, in his mind a soldier in pain was dire so he pulled out the encrypted phone he was given. He dialed the only contact he was allowed to speak to "Sir. Doctor Black. Hell-Froze."

 _["Go" General Braddock said. He cringed at the thought of a call from the doctor. Sutton had instructed him to call only if things took a turn for the worse.]_

"Sir. I need access to Hell-Froze medical history. He is in pain and sedatives not working. He keeps waking. I've tried several things but nothing is working" the doctor related.

 _[The General did not like hearing Samuel was in pain. "How long has this been happening?"]_

The doctor responded "Most of the past three hours but has gotten more intense and frequent in the past hour. I kept upping his dosage but I've maxed out on that. I can't give him more without worrying about suppressing lung function."

 _[William was pissed "Why the hell didn't you call sooner? No soldier should be allowed to be in pain for that long. Hold."_

 _The fury was evident in his clipped tones as he instructed one of his staff to access the medical records and redact everything except pain management. The Corporal's fingers flew over the keyboard and within five minutes he told the General he sent them to Sutton._

 _While he had waited he was mostly lashing himself for not making sure the doctor was aware of Samuel's pain meds needs. He recalled now that Patch had figured out the right combination. It was special, just like Samuel. But he took his anger out on the doctor too. He had waited too long to call in his opinion._

 _In his icy steel command voice the General said "Dr. Black, expect pain management records for Hell-Froze to be delivered to you by Colonel Sutton in five minutes or less. I expect better care than this for my ..." he had to stop himself he almost said son "for my soldiers. If you have further problems you will call instantly or there will be severe repercussions. Do you understand?"]_

"Understood Sir" Dr. Black hung up.

He had no idea who he had been talking to, never would. But that man was thoroughly pissed off by the sound of his voice. It was nice to know a Commanding Officer cared about the soldiers. He moved close and leaned over to look at his patient.

The doctor felt bad his patient was still in pain. He could see the furrow in his brow and set of his jaw. His patient was actually clenching his teeth. Every damned muscle was rigid. The soldier was clearly awake and in pain right now. The doctor damn well hated working blackout cases. He was glad they were few and far between.

Sam moaned again. He worked very, very hard putting all his concentration into one thing and one thing only. He had to get his eyes open. He finally managed it and saw a pair of hazel eyes close to his face. He latched on to the eyes and tried to communicate he was in pain.

The doctor's heart seized. The pain and pleading he registered in those blue eyes it was almost overwhelming. "Relief will be here soon soldier. Soon. Hang on."

He sincerely hoped he had some relief for his patient soon. That god damned file better get here quickly.

* * *

 ** _Seven Hours After Surgery – SF Base Hospital ICU Bay 4_**

The General stormed down the hall and into ICU bay 4. The doctor had called hours ago to tell him that the new mix of medications had worked. That Hell-Froze was now resting comfortably and fully sedated. But he had to see for himself.

The nurse was startled when someone stormed into the room. She was about to reprimand them and call for security. No one but she and the doctor were allowed into this room.

But she registered two things. One his insignia on his operational uniform indicated he was a General. Two he looked much like her patient. Clearly they were related. But she demanded "Access code."

The General had been aware of no one except Samuel as he had burst into the room. The strong, confident female voice made him turn towards it "Hell-Froze."

Then he turned back to Samuel and went close. Ah damn son you look like you've been through hell.

He ordered harshly as his emotions got the better of him "Out, out now. Knock before entering if you have to administer meds or take vitals."

The nurse registered the concern and worry on the General's face. Definitely related, maybe father or uncle. As she exited the room she said "Understood Sir." She closed the door behind her.

William drew the curtain around the bed shielding it entirely from view. He went to the bedside pulling a chair close. He lightly touched his son's cheek to ensure himself Samuel was really there then sat.

He reached out and gently placed his hand over Samuel's hand. He patted it lightly. He would never get used to seeing his son hurt. He looked at his face. His face looked horrible, so many bruises and a gash over the eye.

His eyes landed on the finger marks on Samuel's throat. A small sound distress escaped the General. Sutton had informed him of Ed's interview and what had happened in the tunnel. He was glad the bastard was dead; he had hurt, maimed and killed so many soldiers, and unknown others. In his own mind it was fitting that Samuel was the one that killed him.

But then he was given the reports from Winds, Spike and Mason too. When he combined what Mason and Ed reported happened in the conference room with the reports given by both Ed and Spike regarding the tunnel and what Winds, Mason and Ed all reported what occurred as they prepared to enter the building that worried him. Clearly Samuel was struggling with something, maybe several things. They would need to talk when he woke up.

The General heard a noisy disturbance down the hall. Sounded like all hell was breaking loose. He sighed. He knew those voices. They were so loud and so angry.

William knew they cared so much. It hurt not to tell them, to keep them in the dark. But he had no option. He would have to face them all eventually. The worst one to face would be Blaze.

He and Blaze had several conversations over the past few years and had actually developed a mutual respect for each other. He'd like to think a friendship but that was hard when the soldier was in your command. But he knew that Blaze thought of Samuel as a son. Hell he was more of a father to Samuel then he had been in the six years Samuel was under Blaze's command.

To keep all knowledge of Samuel's condition from him would be so cruel. If it were him in Blaze's position he would go completely nuts. It was hard enough knowing his condition and not being here, he could imagine the hell Blaze would go through. He would likely strike out at anyone involved in keeping the information from him.

Then he thought about Samuel's SRU team. They would be upset too. Samuel had built another extended family with that team. It would be so hard on them no knowing as well. Damn, so many people would be hurt by this one unavoidable action.

He leaned forward and brought Samuel's hand to his cheek. He whispered "We are going to have a hell of a lot of bridges to rebuild after this Samuel. I sure hope whatever information you have in your head is worth all the pain this is going to cause the people who care about you."

William sat back and released Samuel's hand and pulled out his phone and dialed.

 _["Sir. What do you need?" Mike Galloway asked.]_

General Braddock stated "Priority 1. A safe house set up within the next twenty-four hours. Need one fully equipped to handle medical needs. Make sure it's no outdated piece of shit. The location will need to have the latest tech and total coverage with at least two escape routes. Understood?"

 _["Priority 1 understood Sir. A few questions Sir. Only the immediate staff or include medical staff? In-country or out? Is package self-ambulatory?" Mike asked.]_

"Only immediate staff. Have Corporal Drake confer with the doctor. In-country but extremely isolated. Package sedated, post-surgical by seven hours. I want to move within the next three hours."

 _[Mike's mind was already reviewing their options as he answered "Understood. Arrangements will be completed within the hour Sir."]_

"Thanks Mike" William said and then hung up.

His personal security team was fast, efficient and he could always count on them. Especially Mike Galloway his lead man. Mike had been with him for nearly a decade now and he trusted Mike with his life. The General sat back and relaxed a bit, they would ensure a proper safe house was set up. Which reminded him, he pulled out his phone again.

 _["Sutton."]_

"Tom, we need to investigate who assigned that piece of crap safe house. I'm also ordering a full review of all safe houses. We need to either retrofit or deactivate ones that no longer meet standards. Too many people were put in jeopardy with that out dated one" General Braddock stated.

 _["Already on it Sir. As to who assigned it. That would be a Corporal Graham. He is new and just chose the closest available one on the list. No malice intent. I have already assigned two men to complete a thorough review of our current assets."_

 _He then asked with a slight bit of humor in his voice "How's Hell-Froze?"]_

William laughed "Tom you have a dreadful sense of humor. He's gonna want to ring your neck for that one. But he's resting comfortably right now. Thanks for keeping him safe until I got here."

 _["Anytime. Have you talked to the committee yet?" Tom questioned.]_

"No. It depends on what he has to say. Let's leave it at that for now. I'll talk to you when I can. Communication will be limited from here on out" he relayed.

 _[Sutton understood blackout protocol and simply answered "Understood Sir."]_

The General pushed the chair near the wall and tilted it back and rested his head on the wall. He closed his eyes, resting a bit. His boy was going to be okay. He just needed to find out the Priority 1 details. Then they could figure out the rest.

Samuel was a damned good soldier and could rise very high, very quickly if he wanted. But Samuel didn't want that. All their arguments clearly told him that.

The fact that Samuel had re-upped didn't surprise him. His son was an honorable man always willing to sacrifice his life to save others. He did it to save a boy and he did just that by the accounts in the reports. But in doing so, Samuel took on a life he really didn't want.

William would find a way out for Samuel. He would get him back to the life he wanted. To the life he deserved to have. A life that gave him purpose and put a light in his eyes.

* * *

 ** _Five Days Later – Safe House (Near Yellow Knife, NT) – 0400 (4 am)_**

Awareness filtered into his mind in small bits and pieces. Things were jumbled. There was real pine scent but no disinfectant odor. But he heard the beeps of monitors. He felt the IV. He was definitely lying on a hospital bed. But it didn't feel like a hospital.

He ached all over, his side hurt and it hurt a bit to breath. Sam recognized he had oxygen on. He sensed someone in the room with him.

So he listened carefully to determine their location. He picked up the soft steady rhythm of inhale and exhale. Whoever it was they were asleep about three feet to the left of him.

Sam ventured to crack his eyes open. The room was dimly lit; only one small lamp was on to the right of him where his head was presently turned. He looked at the small window. Totally dark outside and he could see billions of stars. He was not in a city that was for sure. Stars did not shine that brightly there due to all the city lights.

He was definitely far from any city. Why? How?

Turning his head inches at a time, his neck was very sore, Sam finally made it fully to the left. He saw someone slumped in a too small for his frame rocking chair. His head was lolled to the side he could not see the face. His pants looked rumpled like he'd worn them several days. He was wearing a tan t-shirt. He was definitely military by the clothes.

His eyes were so heavy and Sam let them close as he drifted out again.

* * *

 ** _Safe House (Near Yellow Knife, NT) – 0600 (6 am)_**

William yawned and rolled his neck to get the kinks out as he blinked his eyes. As he leaned back a bit they settled on the wood beamed ceiling above him. This little rocking chair sucked. He had spent nearly all of the last five days in it. He looked to Samuel.

He said sleepily "Son, please wake up. It's been five days now Samuel. Time to wake up. Please come back."

This was the same plea he had made every day for the past three days, only the number of days changed.

The first two days Samuel didn't wake up had concerned him but not too much. Samuel had slept peacefully never once opening his eyes. He knew that Samuel had some significant injuries and his body was likely recuperating. Sleep was good for that.

But the past three days had been horrific and a living hell. He was worried that Samuel's mind had fractured. Drake had conferred with doctor yesterday and conveyed what was happening. The doctor said there was nothing he could do medically to help. There was nothing physical causing this. That made him even more concerned.

In the past three days Samuel would start screaming and thrashing about. When he finally calmed his eyes would be open and were filled with desolation and hopelessness but he was completely unresponsive. They tried everything, loud sounds, shaking him and even resorted to slapping his face once. No reactions. It was like he wasn't even there. He would drift back into unconsciousness within minutes.

It repeated over and over again, sometimes multiple times per hour. Sometimes it would be a few hours in between. It was completely random and very disconcerting.

William was desperate to help his son. He had reviewed the reports multiple times. Based on the reports of Samuel's behavior during the mission he was troubled. That day had been so overwhelming emotional for him.

Samuel must be trapped somewhere in his mind. William wanted so badly to be able to reach his son and drag him back to the here and now.

He reached over and patted Samuel's hand for the umpteenth time. "Sam, time to wake. Whatever it is son, I'll be here to help. I'm not letting go, you are too important to so many people. Come back to us."

Nothing. No response at all. William sighed and rubbed his bleary sleep deprived eyes.

The General stood and stretched then walked to the kitchen. He smelled coffee.

"Sir, There's a fresh pot. Want me to pour a cup?" his lead security detail man said.

The General nodded and sat at the small table and grabbed the two year old magazine and wished for a current paper. But he kept security tight; no one in or out. With Samuel's current condition he wanted no one aware. Luckily they had brought enough supplies to last up to four weeks.

As he set the cup down for the General, Mike said "Sir, perimeter check was clear. All's quiet. How did he do last night?"

"Thanks Mike. Not well had three episodes. The last one was the longest ever and ended around 0300. I fell asleep after." He took a drink.

"Sir, you need more rest. Three to four hours a night is not enough. If you want I can sit with him while you get some rest" Mike offered as he set a bagel and cream cheese down in front of the General.

He admired this man and his son. What the General was going through was probably just as devastating as whatever was happening to Sam.

"No. I'm fine. I need to be there when he wakes" he said and decided to return to the room.

Both chairs were equally uncomfortable but at least in there was Samuel. He grabbed the bagel and nodded thanks as he strode into the room. He was about to lower himself into the tiny rocking chair again when he had an idea. He was grasping at anything lately.

William walked to the bed. They had enjoyed having morning coffee together when he his lungs were recovering. He waved the mug just below Sam's nose "Son, why don't you join me for morning coffee? We haven't done that in a long time. Smells good doesn't it. Come on I know you can do it. Open your eyes and I'll get you a cup."

He waited leaving the coffee under his nose for a good minute or so. He finally removed it and took a drink "Tastes good too. Come on son."

The General stared, no change, no reaction. "Okay but I want you to know I'll be here when you do wake. I'm not going anywhere. You hear son, I'm not letting you fall."

William went to the chair and sat dejectedly. In his head he bellowed 'wake up now, I command you'. If only that would work; it didn't. He had already tried that more times than he could count.

* * *

 ** _Safe House (Near Yellow Knife, NT) – 2100 (9 pm)_**

Samuel had been quiet all day. Not a single outcry or thrashing episode. The change although good also concerned William. What the hell was happening to his son?

The General was fiddling with a pawn from the chess set. When he glanced at Samuel and he saw blue eyes open and staring at him. There was no light in the eyes, no mirth, no life, no Samuel.

His heart froze at the nothingness in his son's eyes. The expendable chess piece tumbled to the ground.

William stared a long time. Samuel did not speak nor blink. The General was urgently trying to figure out what to do, how to react. Tentatively he said "Samuel, I'm so glad you are wake."

He wanted to rush to him but thought better of it. He held back. He moderated his tone to be soft, concerned but not overpowering or threatening "How do you feel son? Any pain?"

Sam stared. How should he answer that question? His dad was clearly asking about physical pain. Yeah he hurt, mostly ached except for the deeper pain in his side and he was stiff. Nothing he couldn't handle. But there were more kinds of pain than physical. He was in agonizing pain.

He had been awake since his dad had put the coffee under his nose this morning. But he couldn't bring himself to reenter the real world. Acknowledge that he was still living; if he could call it living. He knew what awaited him when he woke. A life he couldn't bear to live.

Sam hated that he had become a murderer. He had killed in cold blood. He was now also embedded into a world he could not live with either. He was now committed to being a soldier.

What a weird dichotomy a murderer who would keep his word and follow through on the commitment he made. No he wasn't ready to say anything. Sam closed his eyes without answering.

"Samuel, whatever it is we can fix it together. I'm here, you only need reach out" William said softly.

The lifeless eyes opened again and just stared at him. He moved slowly to the bed. William did not want to spook Samuel. He stood close to the bed and slowly reached for Samuel's hand.

He didn't get any reaction when he held it. The empty, dead eyes had followed his movements and looked at the clasped hands. The General reach out his other hand and placed it gently over Samuel's heart.

His voice soft and caring, William said "Son, I can see you are hurting. Talk to me. Please. It will be okay. I promise."

Sam looked at the hand on his heart. If only he knew that his son was a murderer he would not be showing these gestures. He would not have promised. He would disown him.

He realized that he would only ever have two years of belonging. Everyone he loved would desert him. He would be alone again. Always alone. Sam finally got that it was his lot in life to walk the path alone. Everything he ever loved or cherished was ripped away from him in one way or another.

Sam had been naïve to think that this too wouldn't be taken away. Reality always came around and cut him into little pieces. This time it was his own doing. He was a murderer now. He killed an unarmed man. He beat his face bloody then slit his throat with a knife. Then he nearly killed his friend by choking him to death.

It hurt too much. Sam wished he had died on the grenade. Then at least they could have remembered him as an honorable man. But no, nothing was ever easy for him. Sam shifted his gaze from the hand on his heart to his father's eyes.

Sam whispered with absolutely no emotion "I just want to die."

William swiftly wrapped his arms completely around Samuel and pulled him close as his mind reeled. Not again. God not again. Please.

Pain seeped into every crevasse of William's heart. Oh my son, what the hell happened to you? Where did you go? He held tight. There was no resistance but no reciprocation either. Samuel just allowed it.

After a time William pulled back and laid Samuel back on the bed. He choked out "Why?"

Sam's vacant eyes connect with the General's anxious ones. Sam looked away, he couldn't bear to watch the concern turn to disgust and hate as he said "I'm a murderer, I killed in cold blood with malice and a plan. I'm no better than all the men I killed."

William's insides whirled and twirled. He was sure Samuel's mind had twisted things again. In an even tone "Who did you murder son?"

Looking out the window at the night stars he started to shake. The image of Qasim laughing as he shoved the red hot needle into him blotted out the stars. Then the laughing started in his head. The laughing changed to a laughing voice that taunted him 'you're no better than me, you're a murderer'. The shaking turned violent.

William pulled him close again "Samuel it is okay. He is dead. He can't hurt you anymore. He's dead."

"You're wrong. I murdered him. He finally won. He finally broke me completely. I'm just like him now" Sam said dully with the same lifelessness that was in his eyes.

General Braddock raged directly into his son's face as he shook his shoulders "LIKE HELL YOU ARE. YOU ARE NOTHING LIKE THAT SICK BASTARD. I WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM IN A HEARTBEAT GIVEN HALF A CHANCE."

All shaking had left him and the laughing had dissipated as Sam stared at the face that was so close to his. "But I am. I killed an unarmed man."

His voice dropped to barely a whisper "I beat him senseless and then just slit his throat with my knife. I was glad he was dead, that I killed him."

Crap Samuel had warped things so badly in his head. William forced himself to be calm as he said "Son you need to read a few things then we will talk."

The General stood and walked to the other room.

Mike had overheard most of it; hard not to given the small size of the cabin. He had the reports in hand and ready for the General. Mike softly said "I would have killed the bastard given half a chance too. Let me know if you need anything Sir."

He looked at Mike and nodded "Samuel needs to work it out in his own mind. These might help. I hope they help."

He sighed deeply. William was about to head back in and thought he needed a gesture for Sam to know he still cared. He turned around and got two cups of coffee. He tucked the reports under one arm and headed back in with a cup in each hand.

Samuel hadn't moved a muscle. His eyes were still dark voids. He held out the coffee "Missed having morning coffee with you son."

Sam looked at the cup then up at his dad then back at the cup. He had told him he was a murderer and he brought him coffee. He looked back up at his dad.

William smiled "It's not half bad coffee, not quite your iced capp. But we could pour it over ice if you want."

Sam took the cup and sipped.

The General dropped five files in his lap. He saw the names Ed Lane, Mike Scarlatti, Daphne Blain, Naseer Bandar and Ben Hunter on them. He looked up at him "Sir?"

"Complete incident reports. I will warn you, some of it is very disturbing. Read. Think. Then we can talk when you are ready. Are you hungry?"

Sam nodded yes as he opened the first report from Naseer Bandar. As he read his dad left the room. When he returned fifteen minutes later he had just finished Bandar's report. It was extensive and disturbing to find out another operative had been killed that day. One who had tried to protect Daphne and Ben.

The General handed him a plate with an omelet "We go by basics here, none of us cook too well. Best I could do for now."

"Thanks." Sam started to eat as he opened Daphne's file. He had gotten to the part about Ben running from the men. Damn that little boy was brave. He looked up to his dad "Ben is a lot like Matt."

The General nodded. That wasn't so dead flat. He heard a tiny, tiny inflection of emotion. He hoped Samuel finished the omelet before he got to the part of what Daphne had to watch on the monitor with Ben and Qasim.

He didn't relish picking up broken plate, again. He had thrown his plate when he read that part. I should have put it on the paper one to safety. He saw Samuel take the last bite and whisked the plate away.

Sam looked up.

William said "Just going to wash this now" and rushed from the room.

There was a crash and shattering sound from the room. Crap forgot about the mug. But at least there was emotion. He waited another five minutes before going back.

He saw Samuel furiously scanning through the reports now. Fantastic he saw RAW ANGER in Samuel's face, he saw emotion. It didn't quite reach is eyes, those were still lifeless but he could still express emotion. If one could be felt then all was not lost. Samuel was not lost. He could pull him back up out of the chasm he had fallen into.

Sam couldn't believe what he was reading. How could they do that to a little boy? To Matt's boy. He was going to kill them. They deserved to die.

Then Sam read Ed's account of the fight. He blinked. He read it again. Sam read it a third time still not quite believing. He touched his arm. He touched his side. He touched his neck.

He leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes to think. He had done it again. His mind had distorted the events. He was suddenly so completely exhausted. Not meaning to, Sam slipped into sleep.

The General watched his son the entire time. He saw when he realized the truth. The simple touches to his wounds spoke volumes. Then he had closed his eyes. He needed to think, to process the information. William waited.

And waited and waited. He finally glanced at his watch, midnight. He looked closely at Samuel. Dawning hit, he saw the regular breathing of sleep. He stood and gathered the files off his son's lap and placed them on the night table.

Then William pulled a blanket over Samuel and he kissed his son's forehead. He lightly brushed his son's hair like Yvonne used to do as he said "Rest well son. I'm here if you need me. You deserve the rest."

As William left the room he turned out the light. He hoped that was what the terrors were about. He hoped Samuel slept tonight without them.

He saw Mike sitting at the kitchen table "Tell the guys to wake me if Samuel has another nightmare. I'm going to grab some shut eye."

Mike responded "Willco. You deserve the rest Sir."


	19. Suicide Mission? & Who Has Blondies Six?

**Suicide Mission? & Who Has Blondies Six?**

* * *

 ** _Four Weeks After Explosion – Military Aircraft Enroute to Afghanistan – Close To Arrival_**

Sam was sprawled across the metal bench seat in the very back of the plane with an arm thrown over his face. He'd been there the entire flight. He hadn't bothered to move at all.

He was an unlisted passenger on this flight and kept solely to himself. He talked to no one. By the look on his face when he boarded no one wanted to engage in conversation with him either.

Sam readjusted himself as his right side twinged for the hundredth time in the past eleven hours. He knew the look he wore. It greeted him every morning when he shaved this past three weeks. Bruises healed. Gash above this eye now just faint line. Funny it was in nearly the same place as the one he got in the gang war. Same with the knife to the arm. So three more injuries but only one new scar.

His mind did this a lot lately, started one place and ended up someplace else. It had been all over the place during the flight. He thought about his SRU family, his unit buddies, his mom and dad, his cousins and niece and nephew. Sam thought about the rookies in that last mission, about Daphne and Ben and about Matt. His mind never staying in one place and making some very strange jumps.

But back to his face. His face was no carefully crafted a mask he showed to the world this time. No it was real, very real and it kept everyone at arm's length. Exactly what he wanted.

His features were set resolutely in antipathy. He never smiled, not even a hint of one. He never laughed. He existed for this mission but just barely as attested by his lifeless eyes.

If the look on the two young Private's faces in the armory was a good indication, no one would bother to interact with him. As he requisitioned the items he needed the Privates could not wait for him to leave. They had taken one look at his face, one look at the code name Sutton had given him and one look at the items and raced to get them. As he left he heard one say 'wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley' and the other replied 'hell wouldn't want to meet him in broad daylight, he's deadly, no life in those eyes'.

In order to complete this mission, Sam needed everyone at arm's length. He could not afford to care about anyone. It hurt too much when they were ripped away from him. He had committed to the life of a soldier and he would do his job and he would do it to the best of his abilities.

But following through on commitments didn't change the fact that he was lost some where deep down in the chasm unable to climb out. Every time he tried to climb he only fell deeper down. He stopped trying to climb and accepted his fate.

He had pulled on a mask with the General. He had gone military efficient to handle being in that safe house with him as his physical wounds healed. Sam needed his father to think he was capable of handling this mission.

It had worked. The fact was, he was capable of handling it. But there were things his father didn't know that he did about this mission. His own personal need to know, it was better this way.

Sam had accepted that he was not a murderer. His dad and he had a long conversation about the differences between killing and murdering. In fact, they had spent nearly the entire day discussing it.

He could see now that he had reacted to a threat. That Qasim had pulled the knife. That he had killed to protect himself and in the end it had protected Ben, Daphne and quite possibly Ed too.

Bile still rose when he thought how close Ben had come to being tortured by that sick bastard. Sam dropped his arm and reached down to his pack and unzipped a small compartment on the outside. He slipped his hand inside and held onto the soft love-worn duck. Ben was okay, Ben was alive, Ben was happy, repeated over and over in his head as he held the duck.

His life for Ben's. Ben was worth it. He had woken up a week ago to find the duck next to him.

Apparently, Ben had wanted his Unca Sam to have the duck. Blaze had given it to Sutton and demanded he find a way to get to Blondie. Strange how something so little and innocuous as a child's stuffed duck had helped ground him and kept him from falling further into the chasm.

That night when he went to sleep he tucked the duck under his pillow. The night terrors that had plagued him constantly multiple times each night started to reduce and finally came to a stop over the course of last week. Every time he woke from one, he would reach under the pillow and hold it as he calmed.

Part of him thought it might be because it was in some small way a connection to Matt. But mostly it was because it reminded him that there were things worth fighting for, worth dying for. Ben was a small fragment of the mosaic that was the beauty of life. Ben was a piece of the beauty of life Matt created.

He shouldn't have brought it with him. It was too personal. Sam knew he should not bring anything personal where he was going. But he could not help himself, he could not leave it.

Sam squeezed the duck tightly and concentrated on calming his breathing. He would do this. It would not be pleasant but he would do it. Too many innocents would die if he did not.

Again Sam thought, he really should not have brought it. Without thinking, Sam pulled the little duck out and tucked it close to his heart.

He had to do this alone. He needed the strength to do this. He would do this because he was a soldier and it was expected. Sam knew none of his SRU family would understand. They would think it was just him taking unacceptable risk again.

But what they didn't understand was he never saw it as unacceptable risk. If he could save someone by taking an action, then he took the action. Even if he lost himself.

His mind landed on image of Ben again. He would do this for all the little Ben's of the world. His life was a fair trade to keep them safe. Sam pulled the duck out of his vest and tucked the duck back into the pack and zipped it up.

He really, really should not have brought it with him.

Sam sighed and shifted on the bench. His side twinged again. Damn thing still hurt.

He had lied outright for the first time when he told the General it no longer hurt. He was tired of waiting around for it to heal completely. He wanted to get this over with.

It didn't really matter whether it healed completely. It was healed enough for him to do what he needed to do. It wasn't like he was coming back from this, so really, it didn't matter.

* * *

 ** _Special Forces Base – General's Office – 1000 (10 am)_**

A knock sounded on his door. "Enter" General Braddock called out as he closed the folder and looked up. "Sutton, good to see you man." He stood and strode around the side of his desk.

Sutton closed the door and entered fully and saluted "Sir. Good to see you too. I came as soon as I heard you were back on base. How's Hell-Froze?"

The General sat on the edge of his desk. "Honestly Tom, I'm not sure. He appeared operational. Has all the right answers. Physically he is well and mended. But there is still no light in his eyes. It's like he is going through the expected motions but he is not really there. We both know his heart is not in it. But he never backs out on a commitment. It's too ingrained in him."

Tom slightly shook his head but was supportive as he said "Will, like I said before. He's a tough one. He will get through this. Sam always has, he is resilient."

Sutton could see his words were falling on deaf ears. The look in his General's eyes was far away and concerned. Something was up "Sir. Where is he?"

William turned to look at his friend of nearly forty years. "Need to know basis" is all he said.

Understanding dawned and Sutton yelled "Christ man you sent him on a black ops mission. What the hell are you thinking?"

Riled himself now the General yelled back "He was the only one for the job. It had to be done. Believe me if I had any other option I would have taken it." He strode to his window and stared out trying to calm himself before he lashed out physically.

God dammit he didn't want to send Samuel out there alone with no back up. But the reason Samuel had called it Priority 1 warranted it. He wanted to send someone with him but none had the security clearance. The last three months had decimated the JTF2 level five soldiers. The only ones with the right level were either dead or injured.

Besides Samuel, only Blaze and Trigger had level five and both of them were down with serious injuries. The other four who had level five were now dead. They could not wait for the vetting process. It took weeks and they had to move now. Hell they might even be too late already. Damn it all to hell.

A hand was placed on his shoulder and William turned his head to find his friend next to him. He didn't say anything for a long time.

Sutton finally said "Perhaps you could talk to the committee and get them to agree that whatever it is he is doing would warrant an early release from his contract."

Braddock sighed "I tried. They said no. At this point there are no other options. If he succeeds they are going to see him as to valuable an asset to release early. If he fails …" he didn't finish that statement.

Sutton replied "There are always other options. Not ones we always like but there are options."

William stared disbelievingly at Sutton "Are you implying what I think you are Tom?"

Tom nodded and said "I'm sure Holleran would look past it and accept him back at SRU no questions asked."

"Are you fucking serious? There is no way in hell Samuel would go for that. He would rather die than get a BCD" the General responded with firm conviction.

He knew his son. He would never go for being released due to a bad conduct discharge no matter how much he hated being a soldier. Samuel would serve his time and serve honorably. He knew no other way to be.

Sutton look seriously at his friend "There are still other ways. You said there was no light in his eyes. You could order a psych eval and …" he never got to finish.

General Braddock stormed from the room. He could not listen to the insane, idiotic, suggestions of his friend anymore. If he didn't leave he would have decked him for even suggesting those courses of action. BCD, PTSD, conscious objector those terms never applied to a Braddock.

As he stormed down the hall the words played in his head 'you said there was no light in his eyes' and 'he would rather die'. Ah Christ he sent his son out alone when he clearly wasn't ready. Mentally he wasn't focused yet. Dammit!

Then a lightning bolt of realization shot through his heart burning and searing a path. He halted and placed a hand on the wall to steady himself as breathing stopped. Oh god, Samuel didn't expect to make it back alive. Samuel saw this as a way to save people but in the end it would be his death.

Suicide by mission?

William slammed his fist into the wall making a huge hole. God dammit! Why didn't he realize it sooner?

Could he recall him now? No it was too god damned late. Samuel would have already landed and was dark.

William slammed his fist again before storming out of the building. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he just sent his only son to his death.

* * *

 ** _Temporary JTF2 Camp in Afghanistan – 0100 (1 am)_**

The sky was filled with stars. Sam lay with his head on his small pack looking up at the beauty of it. The duck was tucked close to his heart inside the vest in the little pocket he normally used for maps. Maps relocated to another pocket. He should have left it with the rest of his belongings at the main base before hopping a ride to the temporary JTF2 camp this afternoon. But he just couldn't.

It was a new moon. Perfect for his mission tonight; completely dark except for the stars. In another hour the helio would be here to take him to his drop point deep in hostile territory. The mission had been arranged and then went dark. No communications would be allowed until he completed it. No words in or out.

They would never know when and where he died. But he fully expected death. Sam had run every tactical scenario in his mind and they all ended with his death.

Sam even used some of the tactical planning he had learned from Ed and he still got the same result. He hoped he could complete his mission before that occurred though. It was important to complete the mission. So many would be saved if he succeeded.

It was quiet here. The stars glimmered. Sam focused on the brightest ones and gave them names. In the past hour he had named them for all his family and unit buddies. Now he was working on his SRU family.

He just found one that reminded him of Jules. She was such a beautiful, strong, and loving woman. Of everyone she was the one he would miss the most. He had said they would talk after they saved Ben. But he never got a chance.

Sam never got to tell her that she was the only one for him. That no other woman would ever compare to her. That he would wait until she was ready and he wanted to marry her.

They were not dating now. Couldn't date because they were on the same team. They had broken the rules once but neither felt good about lying to the team. So they stopped. Well really Jules dropped him. He could have moved teams to be with her but he didn't, he still needed the team too. It was a damned catch 22.

But now, he wished he had openly broken the rules. Some rules were just asinine. They could do their job and be in a relationship. Hell they were better as a team because of it.

Sam snorted, hell the team most likely knew how they felt about each other already. They weren't stupid. They surely saw all the signs. Well maybe not. Both he and Jules were pretty good at hiding their true feelings. Sam knew he was not the only one on the team that wore masks. To some degree they all did.

As Sam lay looking at the stars part of him was glad he didn't have a chance to tell Jules how much she meant to him. This way she could just grieve the loss of a friend, not a lover. That caused a small stab of pain to his heart.

He found a star that reminded him of Ed. All bright and larger than life. Yeah that one was Ed alright. Theirs was a strange relationship but one Sam cherished too. Ed taught him so much these past few years.

His eyes shifted and Sam thought, ah there's Wordy. A large star surrounded by a medium one and three little ones. Allie, sweet Allie. He still had her drawing up in his locker.

Sam's heart seized. When he was sitting with Ben in the conference room while the little boy slept in his arms he had thought he might be able to add one or two picture from Ben too. But that's not going to happen now.

Sarge, found him. One with a trail of others that looked like they followed it. Boss knew how to lead a team. He was strong and confident and calm. He always knew the right thing to say to help the team. He hoped Greg would help the team get through him not coming home.

Spike was hard to find. Sam scanned and scanned until he found the right one.

Three stars clustered tight together surrounded by what looked like an explosion of stars. The three were Spike, Lou and himself. The three amigos Spike had joked the night they all went to that Mexican bar and got drunk together wearing stupid sombreros.

That was just after Jules had broken up with him. Spike didn't know why but Spike knew that he was hurting and tried to help cheer him up. Sam was so out of it he actually let Spike talk him into watching that horrible movie by the same name.

He hoped losing two friends so close together didn't completely crush Spike. If Jules was the heart of the team, Spike was the innocence and humor that glued them all together.

It hurt to know that he was hurting all his family, biological and chosen. The blackout protocol had to be driving everyone nuts. Sam had wanted to reach out to all them but he could not.

Before he left, he had tried to write them to tell them goodbye and how much he cared for each of them. But the words never came as he stared at the blank piece of paper.

As he had named each star he had said goodbye to each of them. His mom, his dad, Natalie, all his cousins, uncles and aunts. Saying silent goodbyes to Blaze, Winds, Mason and Jim was tough. They had worked so hard for so long to keep him alive. Now that was all for naught.

His mind quieted a bit as the images of all his SRU family rolled through his mind. It was time to say goodbye to them too. Sam reached his hand into the small pocket and held onto the duck.

Sam softly whispered to the stars "Boss, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules, thank you for everything. You will never know how much the past years have meant to me. With you I felt I truly belonged again. I'm sorry for the pain this will cause you. Take care of each other. Goodbye."

* * *

 ** _Scott Braddock's Home_** ** _–_** ** _Ottawa_**

Bouncing Anna on his knee Jeff Braddock smiled. They had grown so much. He was so happy for Scott and Laura. He looked over at Jerrell doing the commando crawl on the floor. "Scott you're lucky. Anna takes after her beautiful mom and Jerrell there is a spitting image of you."

Jeff then laughed and added "Or is he a spitting image of Sam?"

He ducked as the wadded up dish cloth sped past his head and landed on the floor next to Jerrell who immediately crawled to it. Jerrell was an inquisitive one, Jeff thought as he watched Jerrell play with the towel. Just like Sam was at that age as his Aunt Yvonne had told everyone at last week's get together.

It had been an awkward family gathering. They were minus Uncle Will and Sam. Everyone kept asking him if he knew anything. He didn't. All he knew was that Sam had been injured. Then nothing. He was gone from the hospital within ten hours after surgery.

Jeff only knew that because Mason had visited Cameo in ICU to check on his condition and was finally allowed into the ICU area. Mason and Winds had tried to get in earlier to check on Sam but had been rejected entry.

It took eight MPs to subdue the two of them. They actually had to be handcuffed and dragged back to their rooms and they were cuffed to their beds. Apparently after Sam was gone they were released from the cuffs.

Scott finished putting the last of the plates away and turned to Jeff "So you never told me. How did Mason deal with Apollo. Me personally, that rookie would not go on a mission for a very long time."

"Man you should have seen it." Jeff smiled as Anna grabbed at his finger and began chewing on it. "I'm surprised you didn't hear him all the way here. Mason dressed Apollo down long and hard for over sixty minutes publicly. Mason never does that. Always was sensitive to men's feelings. But he let loose like I've never seen before. Drill Sergeant material if you ask me. Apollo looked rightfully shamed by his actions."

Scott interjected "Da… Darned good to hear." Laura would kill him if she heard him cussing in front of the kids. "The little shi… jerk nearly cost everyone their lives from what little you told me about it. Hopefully he learned his lesson and won't be so rash."

"Yeah and when Mason was done with him, my go… goodness Pawn laid into him." Man it was hard to clean up the language sometimes Jeff thought but you never want to get on Laura's bad side with the Commander-in-Chief being her dad.

Jeff then continued "The look on Apollo's face when he heard that Cameo may not make it back to JTF2 because of his actions. Apollo looked crushed. From what I've heard Apollo has been doing nothing but cleaning latrines, garbage cans, helping in the physical therapy department and running laps the last four weeks. Mason is even considering sending him back for retraining."

Scott shook his head "Nah, I think that what Mason is doing right now will have the desired effect. Helping in the PT department will give him a first-hand view of the injuries that soldiers suffer. What he could cause by not thinking and acting rashly. That'll probably do more to get rid of his rashness than anything else ever could."

"Ow, man she bites hard" Jeff yelped as he pulled his finger from Anna's mouth and set her down next to Jerrell. "I wish we knew something about Sam. It is so hard. He called a Priority 1, I know that. It must be something big but it still hurts." He looked up into Scott's face.

Scott could see pain. Jeff had not shared anything other than Sam was hurt, no details. He walked over and lean over the counter close to Jeff "Cuz what is it? I can see something is bothering you. Something more than just not knowing, that is bothering all of us."

"But we can all handle that. Something we are all prepared to deal with from the cradle. Wait? You said he call the Priority 1. How could Sam do that? He's with SRU. They were just assisting Winds and Mason. How the hell could he call …" Scott trailed off at the look on Jeff's face.

Jeff look at Scott "Sam was … I mean he … I didn't want to tell you all. I wanted Sam or Uncle Will to explain. But I have to tell someone. It is eating me up inside. I need to talk to someone about it."

"Tell me, talk to me about it." Scott moved to the other side of the counter and patted Jeff's back.

"Scott, he was in full military uniform. Sam was in charge of the mission. Mason said Sam reactivated. I didn't believe it but Colonel Sutton confirmed it. It's not a temporary special assignment either. He's stuck there for another full five years per the contract he signed for early release. They have this damned committee in charge of Special Forces stop loss. They make the decisions who can get early release. Sam's dad can't make that decision for him now" Jeff blurted out.

"No he couldn't, he wouldn't. We talked about it. Nothing would ever get Sam to reactivate. Nothing short of imminent threat to the country and all he holds dear would cause him to reactivate. Why?" Scott said in confusion.

Jeff sighed "Sam was covered in so much blood when I found him. I had thoughts of the last time. Turned out it wasn't his, well most of it anyways. He was carrying a small stuffed toy in his inside vest pocket. Turns out it belonged to Blaze's nephew."

Scott interrupted "Blaze has no family. How could he have a nephew?"

"He does, they were there to rescue Blaze's sister and her boy Ben. I saw the boy. Sam re-upped for the boy" Jeff stated.

Scott looked at Jeff confused not really following why Sam would re-up for a boy.

Jeff closed his eyes remembering the boy's face. He had meet Matt only once but he had seen the picture of Sam and Matt many times on his aunt's mantle.

"The boy turns out to be Matt's son. Sam did it for Matt's son" Jeff said then scooped up Anna and held her close needing the dose of hope that only comes from innocence.

Scott went and picked up his son. Jerrell reminded him so much of Sam. He held him close. Scott didn't know Matt had a son. But Sam would have done it for that reason in a heartbeat, personal consequences be damned.

Jeff should have told them before but he understood why he hadn't. Scott knew he was going to have to call the cousins. No one was going to like it one bit. He could hear his uncles raging now. Uncle Will was in for a hellava lecture from his brothers for allowing this to happen.

Laura popped into the kitchen at that moment and took in two grown men cuddling two adorable babies. She smiled. But then she felt the somber mood. "What's wrong Scott?"

Scott said nothing, he just pulled her into a hug needing her strength.

* * *

 ** _Somewhere in Afghanistan – 0300 (3 am)_**

The drop had gone off without a hitch. Sam adjusted his pack and his MK12 SPR rifle. He liked his Remi better but the MK12 was adapted for his needs here.

He pulled on his night vision goggles and set off north east. He had only two hours to cover twelve miles. Not so much a challenge in daylight but at night relying on the night vision goggles it was fraught with danger. One wrong step could mean failure before he even got to his first point.

Sam kept his mind solely focused on his objective. Get to the one safe location he knew of in this area. The one place he and Blaze had taken shelter years ago. Mile by mile he was making it closer.

He checked his watch and his GPS. He had made good time so far even with the pain in his side. Sam slowed his pace and grabbed his water bottle and took a very small sip. Just enough to wet the insides. It was still cool now but it would be very hot soon. But at least it was a dry heat. He rechecked his direction then set off at a faster pace.

Thirty minutes later he removed the night goggles. It was predawn and there was enough light to guide him now without them. He picked up the pace. It would be better to arrive before the sun crested the horizon.

He saw the small collection of buildings. They looked no different than they did four years ago. Thank god for small favors. The people here were anti-Taliban and hid him and Blaze for a full week while Blaze and he recovered enough to make it out on their own. He was hoping the same people were here.

Sam located a strategic hiding place that would allow him to observe until night fall. He settled in and waited. With any luck they might still recognize him. The children had been intrigued by his blonde hair. They all wanted to touch it and he allowed them to. They had never seen anyone with his color hair before.

It was such an isolated locale and they lived roughly. No electricity, no running water, very basics. Last time they had nothing to leave or give as a thank you. This time Sam had brought a few items to leave with them. He brought them some medical supplies and some candy for the kids. It wasn't much but he couldn't carry more than that.

He watched as the small village came to life. One building in particular. Two hours later the door opened. He would recognize Ali Radwan any day.

Ali was missing the lower part of his left leg; lost to an IED. He still used the wooden peg. His son Amjad just exited. That boy has changed so much. He was only fourteen then. Now full grown and eighteen.

Sam settled back to rest until night fall. He would go see Ali tonight. He needed information to determine his next location. It had to be one of three. Maybe Ali would have some information that would narrow his search.

He readjusted himself. When would his damned side quit twinging? Sam was sore and tired, not quite his full strength yet. He was well-hidden so he decided to nap.

Just before allowing himself to drift off into a light sleep, Sam thought Ed would definitely not approve of this nap location.

* * *

 ** _Five Weeks After Explosion – Special Forces Base Hospital – Blaze's Room_**

The General was not looking forward to this one bit. But he needed to visit Blaze. He needed information. Samuel had not made contact as planned. Samuel had been out there for fourteen days now. He was overdue by three days.

He stepped into the room, Blaze was alone. Good. From reports Mason or Winds were often around. He needed Blaze alone. "Captain Blain. How are you doing?"

Blaze looked up from the book he was reading and quickly set it down and saluted "Sir. Doing okay. Would really like to get out of here."

The General pulled a chair close to the bed "We need to talk. I need information."

Blaze looked quizzically at him hearing the urgency of the request "Sir. What kind of information?"

"Four years ago you and Braddock did an op together, alone. You know the one I'm referring to I assume. I need you to draw out as detailed a map as you can remember of the tunnels you two encountered" the General stated.

"Sir. Aren't they in the records? I know Blondie drew them out and turn them over" Blaze replied.

His voice dripping with disgust the General explained "No. Major Plouffe was in charge of the records. The tunnel locations and maps are missing. We have found a lot of missing data from critical files he was in charge of. If he wasn't dead we would charge him with treason too."

Blaze was surprised "Wow that bastard is still causing problems from the grave. I can draw them Sir. I don't recall them all but I have a fairly decent memory. Blondie was always better at that. When do you need it?"

"Now" the General said as he pulled out aerial maps, paper and markers.

Blaze was concerned. The General would not quite look him in the eye. That never happened. General Braddock was silent as he quickly drew the maps. There were three locations and three sets of tunnels. Blaze marked a spot almost central to all of them.

Pointing to the mark, Blaze stated "Sir. This last mark is a friendly village. Whatever you are planning please be aware they helped us immensely. Neither of us would have made it out without their help. There is one man in the village by the name of Ali Radwan. He kept us in his home in concealed room in the basement."

The General looked over the maps and asked a few questions before tucking them away. Mason stopped in the doorway about to enter and say hi to Blaze when he saw the General sitting in the chair. He held back allowing Blaze and the General to finish their conversation without interrupting.

Blaze was still disconcerted by the General's lack of eye contact. He knew a Priority 1 had been called by Blondie but not why. He knew protocol and accepted there would be a blackout even if he didn't like it.

He tried to wait patiently for word on Blondie. Well not quite so patiently. He and Winds and Mason had contacted everyone they knew trying to find out information on Blondie. But nothing could be found. It was like he didn't exist.

But the General's behavior coupled the request to draw the tunnels was making his gut churn. Something was wrong he could feel it. In his gut he suspected it was to do with Blondie so he asked "Sir. How is Blondie?"

The General just stared at his hands.

"Sir. Where is Blondie?" Blaze asked suspicion growing tenfold.

The General remained silent and still looking down.

Blaze demanded loudly "Sir. Who has Blondie's six?"

Alarm bells were ringing loud and clear in Blaze's head. He needed to see the General's eyes to confirm his suspicions.

General Braddock finally met him eye to eye. Holy hell! Blaze clearly read what the General could not say out loud. He sent Blondie there. He sent Blondie alone. He was asking for information because Blondie was overdue.

Blaze exploded "What the hell have you done? How the hell could you?" and punched the General two times.

The General did not react at all. He just stared. His eyes communicated I had no choice. Blaze hit him twice more.

Mason was dumbfounded watching Blaze strike the General and the General take it. Just what the hell was going on? Blaze settled back into the bed and glared at the General.

Silent communication ensued.

Blaze's eyes yelled 'You're a dead man if Blondie doesn't make it'.

William's eyes responded 'I know'.

The General rose and left the room without saying a single word.

Mason walked up to Blaze "What the hell was that about? You're gonna get court martialed for striking an officer. A General no less."

Blaze was silent. His throat clammed up. He knew those tunnels. They had barely made it out alive the last time. They had each other, that's the only way they made it. Blondie was overdue. The General sent Blondie to his death. They would never know when or how he died. Blondie sacrificed himself to save his sister and his nephew.

He would never be able to live with himself if Blondie didn't make it back. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His son, the only one he would ever have, had no one to watch his back. He was going to lose the man he thought of as his son and he could not do a damned thing about it. It hurt too god damned much too even cry. He tuned out the world around him. He heard nothing but his own heartbeat.

He didn't hear Mason ranting at him for several minutes before slumping stunned into a chair. He didn't know Mason sat there for the entire night and next day either. He didn't know that Winds replaced him and tried to talk to him or get a response from him for hours. He didn't register the doctors or nurses.

In his mind he was in the tunnels with Blondie watching his six.

* * *

 ** _Six Weeks After Explosion – Somewhere in Afghanistan – Home of Ali Radwan – 0430 (4:30 am)_**

Sam had stayed with Ali for three days last week before checking out the first location. He had been more exhausted then he thought. The pain in his side and the twelve mile run had sapped him and he needed the rest. By the third day he felt more himself and pushed himself to get moving. He really didn't have time to lay about.

The first location was a two night trek each way. It was too dangerous to travel during the day. So he found cover and rested lightly during the day. Never fully sleeping.

When he got to the first location, it was completely abandoned. It had been for years by the looks of it. He searched anyway for clues or other useful information. Then he had returned to Ali's house. Sam slept one full day and night then made plans to recon the second location.

It had taken him three nights travel to get there. Again it was not what he was looking for. It was occupied and he did sneak in and set charges on a delayed timer. He was nearly five miles away when they went off. The explosion was so forceful he imagined he felt the shock wave in the ground. He clearly heard it though.

That armory was now completely obliterated. Good. It had a huge supply of M224 60mm mortar rounds. Highly likely most of the tunnels collapsed too. Someone was gonna be pissed.

It was going to make searching the third tunnels more difficult. The terrorists would be on higher alert after that explosion. But Sam had to set the charges and destroy the stockpile. He couldn't leave a stock of munition that large functional.

He was returning to Ali's house to plan his recon of the third site. Sam had run flat out the last five miles. He needed to arrive before day break. He was only a quarter of a mile away from Ali's house now.

Sam was utterly exhausted having not slept more than a few light naps in six days. But everything was going fine until his foot hit a divot and he went crashing to the ground. As he fell he reached forward to catch himself and when he rolled his right side impacted with a sharp rock.

He lay there panting from exertion and pain for several minutes. He needed to get moving. Sam sat up and tested his ankle. It hurt but it was not too far and he could make it to Ali's then assess fully.

Sam managed to get to a standing position and was testing putting weight on his foot when he heard the clicks of guns being cocked. He froze.

"Siz qaerda qolish."  
(Stay where you are) the man loudly commanded.

Sam froze standing with all his weight on one foot just using the other to balance. He did not want to acknowledge he understood. They were speaking Uzbek.

Three men came around in front of him. Sam recognized one from the village but not the other two.

"Siz kimsiz?"  
(Who are you?) the man demanded.

Sam remained quiet.

"Men sizga kim aytdi?"  
(I said who are you?) he demanded again.

Sam remained quiet. Ali had provided him local clothing so he did not stand out too much but he was too pale and his blue eyes and blonde hair would be a dead giveaway in the daylight. Luckily it was still dark enough to hide those things.

The man shined a flashlight into his face. All three guns rose to Sam's head. Damn I hoped to complete the mission.

The men were spread too far a part to get all before one got off a shot. But the men just stared for a long time at Sam's face. One turned to his companions.

" _O'lik ko'zlari. Siz o'lik ko'zlarini ko'ryapsiz? U yuradi lekin tirik emas."  
_ (Dead eyes. Do you see the dead eyes? He walks but is not alive) the man said surprised.

Sam thought, yeah pretty much. But kept his mouth shut.

" _Fateen , yo'q, yo'q , bu men sizga aytgan odam. To'xtatish , to'xtatish . Iltimos."  
_ (Fateen, no, no this is the man I told you about. Stop, stop. Please) Ali was yelling as he ran towards them.

The man turned to Ali and lowered his weapon.

" _Biz nur oldin uyiga uni olish uchun lozim qiling."_  
(Please we need to get him into the house before light) Ali said as he stopped next to Sam.

The other two lowered their guns too. Ali made let's move motions to Sam.

Sam had been so caught up in what transpired he forgot about his ankle. He took a step forward placing all his weight on the foot. Sam crashed to the ground as his ankle gave out. He grunted in pain.

Ali's hands and one of the man's hands helped him to rise. They helped him to Ali's house. The three men left quickly. Sam hobbled down to Ali's basement then to the concealed room. Ali followed.

Sam assessed his ankle. Only a twist. If he wrapped it tightly he would be okay. He put his hand under his shirt and pulled out a bloodied hand. "Shit."

The rock hit him directly where the knife wound was. It was still tender and sore but healing. Well until now. The rock had ripped into the tender area and made a deep gouge. Nothing he couldn't tend himself thanks to Patch's training but he was so sick of this area of his body hurting. Sam pulled off the shirt to tend to his wound.

Ali gasped staring at Sam's chest.

Sam looked up at him. Ah crap, Ali was reacting to his scars.

" _Long oldin . Suv Ali uchun men alam mumkin? Faqat bu off yuvish kerak ."_  
(Long ago. Can I trouble you for water Ali? Just need to wash this off) Sam said flatly.

When Ali returned Sam quickly dealt with his wounds. He then redressed into his own clothes.

" _O'sha odamlar meni ko'rib , chunki siz xavf ostidadir ?"_  
(Are you at risk because those men saw me?) Sam asked.

"Yo'q, yo'q, ular Birinchi bo'lib Siz xavfsiz ishonaman. Bugun bu erda dam , ertaga ham, siz kuch kerak. Uchinchi sayt oyoq va oyoq Bilagi zo'r va ko'kragiga ko'p qo'shimcha hisoblanadi. _"  
_ (No, no, they believe as I. You are safe. Rest here today, tomorrow even you need your strength. The third site is much further on foot and your ankle and chest) Ali implored concern in his voice.

Sam shook his head and told Ali that he would be leaving as soon as it got dark. He was losing the stealth that the new moon had given him two weeks ago. Sam needed to make it to the third location and quickly.

Ali watched as the young man settled down to sleep. He remembered this young man very well. He wondered what had happened to make him so dead inside. Ali had remembered bright eyes full of light, a lopsided grin and hearty laugh the last time he was here.

Then he thought, those scars were horrible, that could do it. And soldiers see so much death and destruction. It has to take a toll. It was so sad to see.

Ali bowed his head as he walked up the stairs as he grieved for the young man who had shone brilliantly like the northern star and was now a black hole.


	20. Apology, Sam's Mission & A Father Knows

**Apology, Sam's Mission & A Father Knows**

* * *

 ** _Six Weeks After Explosion – SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

After Jim left the team started to clear up the mess they had made of the briefing room. Winnie had called maintenance and reported the need for a new glass partition. Greg, Ed, Spike and Jules all offered to split the cost of the new one. Wordy had declined but they insisted until he relented and accepted.

Over the last thirty minutes Leo had helped out with the cleanup but kept silent. So many things were running through his mind. The name associated with the rumor popped back into his head, Sam Braddock. He completely discounted the rumor. Probably started by some insecure pissant. There weren't many in JTF2 but occasionally one got through the selection process.

So Braddock reactivated too. The Braddock's were a military family through and through for generations. Although he never met Sam there were rumors he was always in the field, that he never took a break. That pissed some people off. Rumors floated around that he was show-boating or trying to earn points to rise in the ranks faster. Leo had never put stock in those rumors either. More likely he was just a good soldier doing as he was ordered.

Leo couldn't wait for the team to explain. The five people he saw interacting now were so different from the ones he'd seen the past three weeks. He almost wished he had not taken the vacation option. Maybe he could change that.

He still felt it was right to reactivate though. Leo knew he would never be good enough at reading people to be good at the SRU job and the normal police job just bored him. Special Forces is where he belonged.

As Wordy was taking the brooms and dust pans to the closet Greg looked at Leo "Thank you for waiting. We all owe you a huge apology and an explanation." Greg motioned for everyone to take a seat. Wordy came in and sat down.

Greg was about to speak when Leo put up a hand "Before you begin, I've figured a few things out. First, the guy I replaced was Sam Braddock. Second, you guys are not mad at him but worried for some reason. Third, it probably has to do with those two big incidents six weeks ago. But I have one question, what did I say to cause that explosion?"

The team looked to each other and found their spokesman. Ed stood up and paced a bit before stopping and looking at Leo "You said you have voluntarily reactivated to full duty and rejoined Special Forces. That's what Sam did. But we all know it was his only option to save his best friend's little boy. He would have never rejoined otherwise. Those words are at the root of our behaviors."

Leo was confused "But he's a Braddock, they are military. Never understood why one would leave in the first place. But why would he rejoin for some boy?"

Greg took over and explained what happened that hot summer day six weeks ago. He explained in enough detail so Leo would understand. But kept back too personal information and information they were instructed by the Army debrief teams that needed to remain secret. He explained that the team was out on medical leave and that is why Team Five did the selection process. Then every one of the team members apologized for their behavior and for making him feel unwelcome.

When they were finished Leo looked to each one "Apology accepted. No hard feeling. I'm truly sorry that you have had no word on Sam. It sounds to me like they implemented blackout protocol. It would have to be huge for them to do that; something beyond taking that woman and the boy."

"My old unit Sarge Trigger was once part of a blackout. We didn't hear a damned thing for near on three months. Never knew what it was about either. He was just there one day, then he was gone without a word. Three months later he showed back up just fine. I'm sure whatever it is, Sam will be fine."

Everyone one groaned. "What did I say wrong this time?" Leo asked.

Wordy explained what fine meant to the team. Leo laughed long and hard. "Geez, I like that one. Gonna have to remember that. Fucked-up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional. So let me rephrase my last statement. I'm sure Sam will be okay. He's a Braddock. You do know that his dad is called General Badass right? I suspect the son is much the same."

They all talked more about Sam and what a blackout protocol was and they asked some questions about Leo trying belatedly to get to know the guy a little. They regretted their behaviors that drove Leo to reactivate. Leo seemed like a likable guy and would've actually been a good fit to the team until Sam returned.

The team invited Leo out to the Goose for both a welcome and farewell drink. Leo agreed. As everyone was leaving the room to change out of their uniforms Wordy held back.

Leo stopped to watch. Wordy went to the chess set and repositioned all the chess pieces. Once he was finished Leo overheard Wordy say "Your move Sam. We'll resume when you get back."

When Leo was on his way to the Goose he called Holleran and told him that he planned to stay the two weeks before he had to leave. He told him that the team and he had worked things out. That way the team could also start the process to recruit another member but not be a man short on the team for two weeks.

As he hung up Leo hoped he would get a glimpse of the Team One that he had been told so much about.

* * *

 ** _Six Weeks After Explosion – Somewhere in Afghanistan – Home of Ali Radwan_**

Shit I should have kept the boot on, I should have known better. Sam was ranting silently at himself as he readied to leave Ali's home for the third location. He had wrapped the ankle tightly but it had still swelled. If he had just kept his boots on it would be better. Sam loosened the laces on the boot to accommodate the swollen ankle. Then slid the boot on and tightened it as tight as he could stand.

He tested it out. Crap, it hurt more than he planned. Sam dug into his small personal med kit and grabbed two ibuprofen pills and downed them. Running tonight is gonna suck. He donned the rest of his gear and started for the stairs.

Sam looked back once to make sure he had all. His heart skipped. He almost left without it. Sam strode over and reached under the pillow. He shoved it into his special spot then went up the stairs trying to ignore the pain with each step.

He entered Ali's small communal room. Ali, his son, three daughters and wife were all there. Sam avoided making any eye contact with the women. He shook Amjad's hand making brief eye contact. Then Sam went to Ali.

"Ali, barcha yaxshilik uchun rahmat. Bu sizni bilish uchun sharaf bo'ldi. Men tugatdim qachon meni orqaga kutmang."  
(Ali, thank you for all your kindness. It has been an honor to know you. Do not expect me back when I'm done) Sam said as he placed his hand over his heart and nodded slightly. Then he shook Ali's hand.

"Sharafdir meniki. Allohning marhamati bilan borib. Agar yana tinchlik va nur topish mumkin."  
(The honor is mine. Go with Allah's blessing. May you find peace and light again) Ali replied as he placed his hand over his heart and nodded slightly to Sam.

As Sam left the house he discreetly set the medical supplies and candy near the front door respecting their customs on gift giving. He wished he could have wrapped them but given the circumstances that small lack of etiquette could be overlooked.

Sam started at a slow jog, pain with each step.

Ali saw what Sam left and smiled. That man was honorable and respectful of their customs. He and Amjad went out the door to watch him leave.

"Ota, u shunday ayanchli ko'rinadi . Men yoshligimda esladi kabi emas . Men u baxt , bir kun topadi umid qilamiz."  
(Father, he looks so sad. Not like I remembered as a boy. I hope he finds happiness one day) Amjad said.

"Amjad , o'g'lim , u o'lim juda ko'p ko'rgan va ehtimol uning hayotida zarar juda ko'p bo'ldi . Bu odamni o'zgartirishingiz mumkin. Men u bor ishonchim komil narsani dosh hech qachon umid qilamiz. Uni o'g'li uchun ibodat qiling. Onang kechki ovqat tayyor bor , kel . Bu kecha biz juda kichik shirin davolash kerak ."  
(Amjad, my son, he has seen a lot of death and likely had a lot of loss in his life. It can change a man. I hope you never endure things I'm sure he has. Pray for him son. Come, your mother has dinner ready. Tonight we all have a small sweet treat too) Ali said.

Then Ali put his arm around his son and guided his son back into the house. He bent over to pick up the bag of candy. He would pray for Sam too. It was so sad to see the light gone from that young man's eyes.

* * *

 ** _Somewhere in Afghanistan – Third Location_**

It had taken Sam four nights of travel to reach the third location. He cussed silently the entire first night of travel. He was right running sucked. His ankle throbbed nonstop.

Sam had only two doses of ibuprofen and he took them both. He was mostly pissed because it slowed him down and the constant pain consumed his energy. He needed to get there quickly. He needed to recon, determine if it was there and destroy it.

He had been lucky to find the small stream on the third night. Sam had been running low on water because it was taking longer. He had drunk his fill then refilled all three containers.

Sam then washed up a bit. He felt gritty. He doused his head in the stream then shook it. Felt good, cooled him down. He dunked his head again.

He had run a hand over his head and face wiping off the excess water. His hair dried almost instantly with the warmth and shortness. It was almost a total military cut; the sides were shaved very close. The only concession was he left it a little longer on top then a normal military cut.

Shorter was easier to manage in the desert but part of him had rebelled a bit. He thought about how Jules would run her fingers through his hair and how good it felt. Sam couldn't shave it all off, so kept it longer on top.

It was near dawn the fourth night when he finally got to the tunnels. He had run most of the night. He couldn't afford for it to take one more night to reach here. Sam scanned the area and found a perch so he could recon. This was the largest of the tunnels. He remembered it had three entrances.

Sam was running off his four year old memory only; no maps were in the file. God damned Plouffe. He was screwing with him again. He pulled out his scope and began to watch the entrances.

He needed to decide which one was the best to use tonight to slip in undetected. Sam couldn't remember which entrance was closest to the room he was looking for or which had the most men in and out of it. All details he had included in his report four years ago. He cursed Plouffe again. Then he settled in and watched.

By late afternoon the heat was getting oppressive. He had tried to grab a few moments of sleep during the day but couldn't really afford much. Sam needed to keep watch.

But he was exhausted and reaching his limit. What he wouldn't give for a Timmy's iced capp or even horrible coffee that Winds always made right now. He rubbed his gritty eyes then went back to the scope.

He was lying on his stomach and the little bulge from the duck was pressing too tightly on his chest. Sam reached in and pulled it out. As he looked at the duck Sam thought of Ben and Blaze.

Sam wondered how Blaze was doing right now. He knew the hip wound was going to be a tough recovery for him. Might even be career ending; maybe not completely but field work quite possibly.

He squeezed the little duck, no bigger than his palm. He really should not have brought it Sam said to himself the thousandth time. But he had.

Sam had to admit it had been helpful. During the run when it hurt so much he had slipped his hand into the pocket and drew strength from it. It reminded him why he could not fail in this mission. Too many innocent people would die if he failed.

All because some damned idiots wanted some form of power over others. Be it religious, monetary or otherwise. It was always about power and control over others for some gain. And now Tahir had in his possession the power to wreak havoc and kill thousands or more. Sam could not let that happen.

He held the duck for a few more minutes then decided to slip it into the cargo pocket of his pants. He wouldn't be lying on it then. Sam took another drink and noted, down to one full container. One should be enough to complete the mission. Afterwards he likely wouldn't need it.

Sam doubted he would be able to get out after getting in. Every scenario he ran in his head said no to that possibility based on his previous time in these tunnels. Two men maybe; one man no way. He just hoped he could get in, find the room, identify if the material was there and set the charges.

He set the scope down and closed his eyes. A short nap was needed. Spike would call it a siesta for one of the amigos he thought as he closed his eyes.

Sam woke with a start. Crap, crap crap! He had slept really slept.

It was night time; fully dark. He checked his watch, holy hell it was 2300 hours. He had slept seven god damned hours. Shit!

He pulled out the night scope and checked the entrances. All three had two guards. The one on the far left would provide him the most coverage to slip in close before dealing with the guards.

Any one of the entrances was a crapshoot though. Sam didn't know which was closest to his target room. He had been asleep when he should have been watching.

Now he had no idea how many men went in each and what he might encounter. He really had lost some of his soldier habits. Two years ago that would have never happened. Sam slipped the scope back into his bag. He took one long drink then stood and relieved himself.

Sam adjusted his pack and weapons. Fast and silent. He checked his handgun then his hand settled on his k-bar. He tested his ankle.

Still hurt a lot, more than a twist or just because he abused it for four long nights of running. It didn't matter which right now, he couldn't let it stop him. Sam bent down and laced the boot tighter. His right side twinged again.

Oh hell, won't matter in a while anyways Sam thought. He was either gonna find bliss or eternal damnation. Earthly cares wouldn't matter soon.

Stealthily he approached the first guard. Luckily they were positioned were he could take one out without the other noticing instantly. One down. He crept behind the other. Two down.

Sam set them both to look like they were just sitting at the entrance. Then he crouched low as he entered the tunnel; stopping a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dimmer tunnel light. Slow and sure he made his way forward.

He accessed his mental map of the tunnels. If he remembered correctly this entrance was the long one. No rooms off to any side for quite a distance. As he approached the first room he heard three voices. There could be more in the room.

Squatting down, Sam peeked cautiously into the room. Three. All with their backs to him and sitting close. He slipped in and dispatched them all so quickly none called out. Sam wiped the blood off and exited the room.

Sam checked seven more rooms and eight tunnel offshoots. His kill total was rising quickly but he had no qualms about it. These men killed for pleasure. He killed because it was needed.

It was a fact of war. Soldiers had to kill. These men would not be dead by his hand if not for the choices they made. They choose to be part of a terrorist cell that killed indiscriminately. Sam killed selectively to save innocents.

He came to the room he was looking for. Sam was glad he finally located it. It had taken almost three hours. He was very deep into the tunnels now. It had been slow going having to check each pathway and room then hiding those he had to kill. The snapped necks were easier to deal with. He could prop them in a position like sleeping. The slit throats had to be hidden.

Sam scanned the room looking for the material. He found it in the far corner in a box still labeled Thruston Group Top Secret. He checked inside.

He could not tell if it was all there or if any was missing. They did not know how much of it there was in the first place. But the box was not full. It looked like at least two or three were missing.

Based on what the analyst had said there was enough here to wipe out thousands, if not hundreds of thousands depending on where it was used. He had seen first-hand what one small bit of this stuff could do.

Sam set to work placing the delayed charges. He placed one in the bottom of the Thruston box then he hid the rest of them all around the large room. Sam set them to the max delay, one hour. With his ankle he needed the extra time to try and make the distance needed to be away from the blast radius. He hoped he had enough time. The last charge was set.

He checked his watch. He had one hour. Sam set his timer on his watch and then activated all the charges.

Sam left the room and back tracked a more direct but still convoluted path as fast as he could toward the entrance. It was slow going; it was near 0400 and he encountered more men waking for the day. He tried to hide in the shadows and bypass as many as possible trying to get out fast. But he could not avoid all and left a trail of dead bodies not bothering to hide them this time.

He was nearing the entrance when he heard the alarm raised by the terrorists. At least one of his kills was found. Sam had to get out fast. At the entrance he stopped and crouched low. He checked his watch. Crap he only had ten minutes left to get as far away as possible.

Sam checked the exterior. The alarm had not reached them yet. He sprinted to cover. Then set off at a flat out run. He needed distance, lots of distance. As he sprinted he realized that he had beaten all scenarios he had run in his head. He had actually gotten out of the tunnels alive.

He started to have some hope this wasn't a suicide mission. Maybe he could go back eventually to the people he cared about. They would wait for him he was sure, they were his family.

It would be hard but it was only five years. Maybe he could even start a life with Jules while he was in the Army. When he was out he could go back to SRU. Maybe not Team One but he could go back to what made him happy. Be close to those he cared about.

His ankle gave out and he crashed to the ground. Sam bellowed in anguish at the sky "God dammit. Why did I start to hope? Everything I care about is always taken from me. Why does it always have to hurt so damned much? Why? Dammit. Why? Why? Why?"

Then he got enraged "God dammit I will not let you win. I will beat you."

With angry tears of pain flowing from his eyes he pulled himself up. He forced himself to continue to run even through the agonizing shooting pains that came with every pounding step.

For once he was not going to let this happen. He was going to fight for what made him happy. He would not let fate win. Fate was always cruel to him.

But as he ran Sam realized he was not going fast enough. He made it out of the tunnels alive but it was still a suicide mission. He could not make it far enough away at this pace.

Fate was so very cruel and would win again.

Sam roared out a long plaintive "Jules."

Jules was the last thought Sam had as his body was thrown into the air and slammed to the ground by the force of the explosive shockwave.

* * *

 ** _Seven Weeks After Explosion – Toronto Airport International Arrivals_**

He fidgeted moving from foot to foot waiting in line at customs. He glanced over at Donesh in the other line. He was cool and calm. How could he be so calm? Abdullah Nania wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. Two more ahead of him now; he pulled his passport out. One more now.

The customs agent said "Passport please."

Abdullah handed it over with shaky hands.

"Business or Pleasure Mr. Alibadi?" the agent asked looking at the name on the passport Peyman Alibadi and checking the terrorist watch database.

Abdullah tried to smile it came out awkward "Pleasure. Vacation. Always wanted to see the CN tower."

That answer got him a death glare from Donesh who was already through customs and waiting for him but appearing to be simply readjusting his bags. They were not to be seen as being together.

The customs agent looked at the shaky man "Are you okay sir? You look a bit unwell."

"No, no just fine, long flight. Just need a bit of sleep and to eat" Abdullah countered.

"Anything to declare, fruits, food items, valuables?" asked the agent.

Abdullah shook his head no.

The agent noticed his palms were sweaty and he looked nervous. "Sir I'm going to have you step over to that officer over there." The agent pointed and motioned to the officer. Agents had been alerted to be on watch lately for suspicious behavior. In her opinion this man clearly needed a second level search.

The officer approached and said "Peyman Alibadi, please come this way."

Abdullah picked up his passport from the counter and followed. He kept his head down so he didn't accidently look at Donesh. He was pissed at him for mentioning the CN tower. He would get several lashings for that if he successfully made it through customs. Donesh would kill him if he didn't, then commit suicide. Their boss Tahir did not accept failure and that would be the only course of action for them.

"Place your bag there and stand arms out and legs apart" the officer instructed.

Abdullah complied. He was scanned with a wand. Then he was sent to the full body scanner. Finally he was sent into the explosives trace-detection portal machine. He was asked to open his bags after they were sent through the scanners. They were searched meticulously.

The agent pulled out an orange plastic egg and asked Abdullah to open it. Then asked what it was. Abdullah said it was like silly putty that kids play with. He used it to calm himself on plane flights. He was afraid of flying. The officer bought his lie and Abdullah put it back into the bag.

As he was putting his shoes back on the officer took his passport and stamped it "Sorry about the inconvenience Mr. Alibadi. We all just need to be careful. Welcome to Toronto. Have a good vacation sir."

He grabbed his bag and nodded. He couldn't believe it. Tahir said it was undetectable by the scanners but he didn't believe it. They were the first test run and it was good. He scurried to find Donesh near the taxi station, their agreed upon meeting point.

* * *

 ** _Seven Weeks After Explosion – Special Forces Base – General's Office_**

Mason was waiting to see the General when Winds walked up. "What you doing here Winds?"

"Just reporting as ordered. You?" Winds replied.

"Same. Any idea why?" Mason responded.

Winds cringed "No idea really. Wonder if it has anything to do with Blaze and you know what…"

He didn't specifically say it aloud with the staff around but Mason would know he meant about Blaze hitting the General. They were all waiting for the repercussions from that. The fact that it had already been two weeks had them antsy.

No one had seen the General for nearly the same period of time. Blaze had finally started talking again. But not often and he seemed distracted most of the time.

"You two can go in now, the General is ready to see you" a young Private said.

Both strode into the room, stopped and saluted "Reporting as ordered Sir."

The General had his back to them gazing out the window. Before he turned around he said tiredly "At ease soldiers. Close the door then take a seat."

Mason and Winds looked at one another noting the tone used. Winds closed the door then both quickly sat down.

William's eyes were not really focused on anything out the window most was just a blur. He was drained from worry and his efforts of the last weeks. He had been subsisting on a few hours of cat naps here and there and coffee.

But he didn't care. He had to get this done and fast. His son's life was in the balance. It had taken a lot of pull and calling in favor after favor but he had finally done it. They were their only hope. The General turned to look at the two men.

Mason and Winds both suppressed a gasp. The General was beyond haggard looking. There where dark circles under his eyes. His face was sunken like he had not eaten in a long time. There was still faint bruising where Blaze had struck him on the jaw.

General Braddock walked to his desk and picked up two files. He held them as he said "Master Warrant Officer Nathan Simons and Sergeant Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich'O'Naoimhín." Then he paused a long time as he looked at both men.

Mason was still impressed the General could pronounce his full name. He knew exactly where Blondie got his language skills from.

The General handed them the files that had their names on them before he continued "Your security levels have been increased to level five."

Shock rippled through both men. That rarely happened. There were only a handful of level five men in all of JTF2.

Winds said "Sir. Why?" suspicion starting to creep in.

"Our ranks of level five JTF2 field soldiers were annihilated in the last three months. We were left with only one active level five. Your service records indicate you are the right men for this position" he responded.

It was true. They were. They earned it of their own accord but he also couldn't think of anyone else that would willingly without hesitation do what he was going to ask them to do.

He cleared his throat "We have a situation. It requires level five. It is voluntary. I will not order you to do this. Let me stress again, this is voluntary. It is extremely high risk. The probability of success is low. It could mean your death or worse."

They knew what or worse was, it meant torture. But the look on General's face was hard to take; he was clearly distraught by something.

Mason interjected answering for both he and Winds "Sir, just tell us what it is you need done and it will be done to the best of our abilities."

Nodding his acknowledgement he opened the laptop that was on his desk the General typed away for a few moments. "Let me read you into the file first. Lay the ground work then I will define the mission."

Mason and Winds nodded.

William stated "It is in relation to a recent black ops mission. The mission was to locate and destroy a cache of new type of explosive material that was developed by the Thruston Group. This new type of explosive material only requires a small amount in order to level buildings. It is currently not detectable by scanners."

He opened a file and handed several photos to them "These are the photos taken by the police in relation to a corporate espionage case involving the Thruston Group. As you can see they show Daphne Blain in the forefront. But focus on the three men in the background."

Winds and Mason were astonished and their guts were starting to tell them this had to do with Blondie.

The General continued "The one on the left is Anwar Yassin, Mousa's right hand man. He was neutralized by SRU officer Wordsworth at the warehouse."

"The one in the center is Abdul Quddoos Tahir. He is a suspected associate of Mousa. He deals mostly in explosives and munitions. He is a major supplier to the Taliban and other terrorist groups. He operates out of Afghanistan. Both Mousa and Tahir used the same sick bastard Qasim as their bomb maker."

"The third man on the right is Christopher Alfred Thruston Jr., son of the CEO of the Thruston Group. Junior is a good-for-nothing that is constantly being pulled out of the fire by his father. He has a long rap sheet but has never spent a night in jail because of his father's pull and money."

Mason asked "Sir. Does this have to do with Blondie?"

William sat back in his chair "Yes. It is the reason he call the Priority 1. Samuel's mind started to put together pieces and connect dots. Samuel said enroute to the warehouse he had a high suspicion there was more to the Thruston connection and other associates of Mousa. So he called Priority 1 before all the pieces fit together nicely in his head."

"Samuel had some information we didn't and we had information he didn't. But his gut feeling was absolutely correct. As Samuel explained it, there were details in there warrant call file indicating that not only was there theft of intel on the new form of explosive but also a physical theft of a significant quantity of the prototype. We have since verified that one box was stolen."

General Braddock reached for his coffee cup but found it empty and set it back down. He continued "In his conversation with Ben talking about names, Ben told him he wasn't the only one with a Jr. at the end of his name. Ben gave him Thruston Jr.'s name. He then told him the names of the other two men that met with his mom that day. That boy is better than a recorder. At the time Samuel said it didn't trigger anything."

William stood and walked to his personal coffee pot and poured another cup. He needed it right now. After taking a drink he said "However after reviewing Mousa's associates and finding out that Yassin, Tahir and Qasim were all associates his mind started rolling."

"After reading Mousa's file he knew that many of the JTF2 units taken out were through explosives. The description of Qasim's bomb methods triggered memories of bombs he had seen at previous traps. Like the one when he was first injured in Kandahar. It seems they have been targeting JTF2 units for years but only recently refined their methods to lure them in successfully. We are investigating that avenue, but that is not paramount to this mission."

He paused to take another long drink needing the caffeine so badly. "When we added in the parts we knew things began to fall together. First the initial analysis of the bomb at the warehouse was mostly wrong."

"The final analysis showed that it was actually mostly the result of only one bomb in the supply warehouse basement. There was a very small amount of C4 in the three bombs that were in the command building. Even though defused they exploded due to the explosion of the main bomb. All that damage was actually done by an extremely small amount of the new explosive material. If all four bombs had been that material there would be a crater where the buildings used to stand."

"Second from Corporal Kostopoulos interview we ascertained that he overheard Mousa's instructions to Yassin. He was to contact Tahir so he could get the material needed continue their work. The targets were to include large public buildings in-country, airplanes and JTF2 units."

"Daphne corroborated this in her statement. She also added that she was able to falsify the intel before passing it on. She changed the details of the formula for creation of the material. If they try to make it they will end up with shampoo not explosives. So the original formula is still safe."

Draining the last of the cup of coffee he said "Our last contribution was the interview with Naseer Bandar. It yielded the information that Thruston Jr. had sold Mousa the explosive materials. Apparently daddy had enough and cutoff his allowance after Junior's last debacle involving underage girls. Mousa then sold them to Tahir. Bandar tried to substitute them before they were handed off but he was prevented when Mousa and Tahir entered the room. Tahir then took most of the material home."

"Samuel then recalled a black ops mission he and Blaze did years ago to recon Tahir's locations in Afghanistan. Everything clicked into place."

Winds stopped him "So Blondie was sent to destroy the explosives. When?"

The worried look increased a hundred fold as he said "Twenty-five days ago. He has not been heard from since. It was anticipated to be a twelve day op."

He leaned forward and tapped a few keys then turned the laptop towards them. "Samuel was successful. Satellite imagery shows two large explosions. One occurred thirteen days into the mission. A second extremely powerful one we believe was the new explosive material occurred on day twenty."

Both of them looked at the blast radius of the explosions. The first looked like a normal munitions explosion, large but normal. The second one was unbelievable. It was almost as if a nuclear weapon went off. There was a huge crater and looked like everything in a one to two mile radius was flattened.

Mason asked "You have heard nothing from Blondie since that second blast."

His gut was turning over. Could anyone survive that? Just one bomb had leveled two buildings completely and the severity of the shockwave had given every one of them concussions. Most were kept in the hospital for a nearly week due to them.

The General did not answer him, he couldn't, words would not come. He turned the computer back around and clicked a few times. William turned it back to them then clicked play.

A video played with no sound. It showed an unidentifiable soldier being badly beaten. He was curled in a fetal position with hands covering and protecting his head.

He was in only uniform pants and a tattered and blood stained tan t-shirt and no boots or socks. There was too much dried and fresh blood that you could not discern hair color, it looked rusty brown given the lighting in the video. The video ended with a screen that said 'He will be beaten daily until he dies for what he's done'.

Clearing his throat the General managed to get out "This was posted four days ago. Each day they post another video of a beating. It never shows a face. But I know it is Samuel."

"Sir. I don't want to disagree with you but it could be any soldier from what we see in the video. What makes you think it is Blondie." Mason was grasping his gut told him it was Blondie, but he didn't want it to be.

He turned the computer again and pulled up another video and played it for them. Again there was nothing to identify the soldier that they could see.

This time Winds spoke "Sir. I don't want it to Blondie. Hell I don't want it to be any soldier. But please Sir what makes you so sure?"

Pulling the computer back to him William ran the video to a specific time stamp and paused it. He turned it back to them "Because of this."

"Oh my god, it's Blondie" Winds said with a shattered voice.

Mason was still lost "How, why?"

Winds pointed to hand that was clasped over the head protecting it. In the same shattered voice he choked out "Because of this. See the little orange thing that looks like a duck foot just there sticking out between his head and his hand. That is Ben's Donald Duck toy. Ben wanted Blondie to have it. Blaze made Sutton get it to him."

Mason stood up his voice was strong and firm "Where is he? I'm ready to go now!"

Hearing the resolution in Mason's voice pulled Winds together and he stood too and added with a confident tone "Sir. When do we leave?"

General Braddock drew on the strength emitted by these two men. He stood "Plane's waiting on the tarmac. Your supplies have already been loaded."

He handed them another file "All the details of the suspected location you need are in this file. Come back safely. Bring my boy home. I don't want to have to face Blaze again and tell him I lost all three of you this time."

William rubbed his jaw across the bruises "Don't think I stand any more of his punches."

Mason said astonished "Blaze knows."

Winds interrupted "That's why he hit you."

Mason interrupted "But you didn't say anything to him. I was there in the doorway. How?"

The General looked at them and said "A father knows. That and I asked him to draw out the tunnels."

Blaze's silence and distraction over the past weeks were now completely clear to Mason and Winds.

When the men left the General slumped into the chair. When Samuel had not checked in by the eighteenth day he had read Blaze in on the mission details. He could not keep it from him any longer, it was too cruel. He had the right security level and he could justify it as needing his intel.

He had told Blaze of his plans to get Winds' and Mason's security levels increased to go look for Sam. Blaze had approved of the plan.

They had both been devastated when the first video had arrived. William was glad that he had confided in Blaze at that point. They worked long and hard to get the security levels increased and to gather all intelligence that might be useful for Winds and Mason.

William pulled out his phone and dialed "They accepted. They are on their way as we speak."

 _[Blaze replied "If anyone can find him and bring him home it is those two. Thank you Sir."]_

Both men hung up. There was nothing more to say. The waiting game continued but now with a bit of hope.


	21. Real Team 1, Angel of Death & Rescue Sam

**Real Team One, Angel of Death & Rescue Sam**

* * *

 ** _Seven Weeks After Explosion – SRU HQ – Briefing Room_**

This week had been awesome so far Leo thought. The team that he was told about did exist. Although they were still not completely themselves given the circumstances but they were dealing much better with it now. Each still had some bad moments and he saw they all continued to covertly leave little notes in Sam's locker.

They had just finished debrief for the day. That last call had been pure adrenaline rush from start to finish. He had loved it, reminded him of SF missions. Leo replayed parts of it in his head.

"Team One Hot Call suspected bomb at the CN tower" Winnie had called out.

"What details do we have?" Sarge asked confidently as they all had geared up.

All the way there information mixed with joking banter flew back and forth over the headsets. Spike almost seemed giddy about using Babycakes as they rolled up to the scene.

Greg took immediate control of the scene communicating with the first responders and the building security. Ed called out roles but everyone had already moved out to execute said roles like they knew what Ed was going to assign. Only he had waited to hear his role. No need for a sniper Leo was directed to help with clearing the building.

Leo had moved floor to floor clearing along with Wordy, Ed and Leah. Jules was in the truck pulling up video feeds to try and identify who may have left it while Spike moved into the basement to assess the bomb.

Spike had stayed far away from the bomb as he maneuvered Babycakes close to do the bomb sniffing for him. Babycakes didn't find any hint of explosives. So Spike had moved in to do a visual inspection and that's when everything went into overdrive.

"Boss, we have a big problem. I've seen this type of bomb before. It's unique, sending you all a picture of it. Boss I think we need to contact the General. Going to check for more of them before touching this one" Spike had called out.

"Spike are you saying it is the same as in the warehouse?" Ed had asked and Spike responded yes.

Wordy had given him a look of this is bad, real bad then said "We need everyone out now. Move it now."

"Jules, anything on the video feeds?" Sarge had called out.

She had replied that she has narrowed it down time wise to two men and she was running their faces through recognition software to see if they could figure out who they were dealing with. He then told her to contact the General directly.

Jules called and informed the General of the situation. He connected her to a guy named Cameo. She sent him the video captures of the man. Within minutes he had returned with names and better pictures. They were dealing with known terrorists with new explosives. They were looking for Abdullah Nania and Donesh Rostami.

Both had entered the country under aliases six days ago. Cameo found out because Abdullah had been flagged as a suspicious entry and taken to second level where they had captured his photo. Then the guy had quickly reviewed the entry tapes at the same time and located his accomplice entering just before him in another line.

Greg directed Jules to send out the photo to all police in an all-points bulletin then to help with the evacuation. He directed the uniforms to move the perimeter back and to clear adjacent buildings.

"Boss, I see them they are in the crowd on the west side watching" Jules had called out as she left the truck.

Uniforms were directed to take over the evacuation while the rest of them minus Spike and Sarge covertly surrounded and apprehended them. Donesh struggled a lot but Wordy quickly took him down with a smooth move. Abdullah just gave up with no fight at all.

Spike had called out for assistance "Boss, there are three of them. Best I can determine they are based on the model Sam described. They are using the multi-tapping timers he told me about. They are identical in design. We have twelve minutes to defuse them. I need two others to help."

Leo had asked Leah what Spike meant by multi-tapping timers since everyone but he seemed to understand the severity of what Spike was indicating. Leah explained it meant that if one was defused the timers on the others would automatically drop to sixty seconds. They needed to disarm them simultaneously based on what Sam had told Spike about them.

"Ed, Wordy go help Spike" Sarge had ordered.

Leo had grabbed Ed's arm a moment "Ed I have lots of experience with bombs from my time in SF. Perhaps I should go instead of you or Wordy."

Ed had agreed and instructed Wordy to stay and guard the subjects with Leah.

As they headed in Leo could hear Sarge and Jules begin to question the subjects. They refused to speak English or even acknowledge Jules existed. Jules had covertly gotten on the phone with the General again and was put in touch with someone called Russ. She set it up so he could listen in and convey to her what they were saying.

According to this Russ guy Abdullah rambled on scared while Donesh kept telling him to be quiet or he would kill him right here and now. Abdullah asked why. It isn't like they can even understand me. I could tell where we were staying and who we work for and they would never know. He had to stop listening to that as he and Ed reached the basement.

Leo was impressed by Spike's bomb defusing skills. Spike directed them step by step to methodically defuse the complex bombs. Each cut was done simultaneously as Spike counted them down. It was a nerve wracking nine minutes. Spike warned them before they cut the next to last wire not to freak when the timers dropped to sixty seconds. He explained which would be the last wire they would need to cut. Spike counted it out and they cut both wires in succession on his counts.

They were drenched in sweat as they each removed the explosives which were inert without detonators. He had never seen an explosive like that. Similar to C4 but more like the consistency of silly putty and had no odor at all. High fives were made all around in that basement. Ed and he gathered the gear while Spike handled the explosives.

While they were working the Abdullah idiot didn't realize he had given away their hotel location thinking no one could understand him. Jules, Wordy and Leah were sent to the location. They had found more of the explosive material and maps showing their other targets. Thank god for idiots like Abdullah.

The Sarge contacted the General and was notified a unit led by Russ would be sent to SRU HQ to take the subjects into custody and collect the explosives from them. Sarge had asked about Sam and was stonewalled. That put a slight damper on the day but only a small one.

As he watched his teammates around the table he saw the team everyone had told him about. Leo thought they handled pressure well. They each had qualities that would make them good SF soldiers if it weren't for the fact of all the killing.

Leo could see they had a very different mindset than a soldier's. They talked to save even the so called bad guys. A soldier shot to kill the bad guys with no talking.

It made Leo wonder again why a Braddock would prefer the SRU over the military. It would be interesting if he got to work with Braddock in JTF2. Leo felt a tap on the shoulder and looked up to see Jules.

"So Leo, you joining us at the Goose tonight?" Jules asked.

He nodded yes and Jules smiled.

Leo had come too really like the team but especially Jules. She was feisty but also the heart of this team. He could see that she of all of them was most affected by the missing Sam. He wondered if there wasn't something more between the two of them then just friendship.

Although there might not be either, just a tight knit team because Ed, Spike, Wordy and Greg seemed to care almost as much. He could see that Leah cared but it wasn't anywhere near the same level as the others, probably because she was new to the team.

Leo had enjoyed working with the team but he was also ready to go back to the military. All this trying to read people was making his head hurt.

* * *

 ** _Somewhere in Afghanistan – Outside Tunnel Location 1_**

Mason and Winds had been dropped in hostile territory three days ago. They had made it in record time to Ali Radwan's home. The man was very helpful and indicated that the last time he saw Blondie was eleven days ago. He explained how he had looked and behaved. That worried both of them a lot.

Ali also said that they saw the enormous explosion six days ago and talk had indicated that both tunnel sites were in ruins and Tahir had retreated to his old unused site. They stayed the day in his basement then headed out as soon as it was dark.

They ran fast, steady but carefully for two nights with night vision goggles. They knew they needed to be careful, if they injured themselves they could not help Blondie. They arrived at the tunnel location in predawn and did a fast recon of the site to locate a concealed spot to observe. Both wanted to go in now but they did not know the strength of force they were dealing with. They needed to have some idea; they could not afford to go in blind.

Mason and Winds both knew they needed the cover of night to get Blondie as far away as possible if it was a larger force then they could deal with. From the two videos they saw Blondie would be in no shape to travel under his own power. With that knowledge Winds indicated he would take first watch so Mason could sleep and recover. Mason settled in and instantly fell asleep knowing Winds had his back.

Around 1600 hours Winds woke Mason.

"Winds why the hell did you let me sleep so long? You need sleep too man" Mason scolded clearly upset.

Winds just looked at him and said "You're going to be doing the brunt of carrying Blondie. We both know it. You needed more sleep. I'll be okay with a couple of hours. So far I've counted a dozen men. There are usually three or four outside at a time. They rotate nearly every three hours. Last rotation just occurred. All have been armed with Uzis, hand guns and knives. Have not seen any com sets so I don't think they are linked in. I have not seen Tahir."

Mason nodded "It will be dark in three hours. I say we go in four hours. Let them think it is a quiet night before we hit. That way it will give us most the night to travel with Blondie. Based on the tunnel drawing and info on what Blaze remembered I think this chamber is where we will find Blondie."

"I was thinking the same thing. Either that one or this very back one, but I say we check the one you indicated first" Winds said pointing at the drawing.

As he folded the map and put it into the inner vest pocket Mason said "Agreed. Now get some sleep old boy. You're lookin a bit washed out."

"God I wish we had Patch with us. Not sure what shape Blondie is gonna be in. I just hope he loses consciousness and is not in too much pain. All the jostling of being carried is gonna suck for him. We could sure use Patch's help" Winds replied as he settled down to get some much needed shut eye.

Shifting to a position to watch better Mason said "I checked the medical supplies the General had packed for us. Included are several vials marked pain meds/sedative specially formulated for Hell-Froze. He remembered that Blondie is special that way."

Winds sighed with relief "Thank god for small favors." Then he laughed "Can you believe the code name they gave him. Fitting but damned funny too."

Mason laughed then said "Go to sleep already."

Winds drifted into a light sleep knowing Mason had his back and that the two of them would have Blondie out soon, if he was here. If not they would keep looking until they found him. Winds just hoped they found him in time to rescue him not recover his body. But either way they were taking Blondie home. They would never leave him here alone.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Home – General's Study_**

William Braddock sat in his leather desk chair tilted back feet up on the desk facing the large bay window but he had his eyes closed. It had been four days since Mason and Winds had left for Afghanistan. One day to travel and be dropped as close to the destination as they dared to avoid detection and then three days to make it to the tunnels. Waiting was so hard.

His wife Yvonne had known something was up long ago. His haggard condition and his lack of appetite had concerned her. He had stayed away from home for most of the last week to avoid worrying her over much.

But today she had called his office and ordered him home. When Yvonne ordered you followed it or paid a high price. Well high for him at least. He couldn't stand to have her mad at him. Her angry glares always hit him hard and he was always the first to apologize. So he had come home.

She took one look at him and had insisted he eat and sleep. He told he would eat but could not sleep. He was hoping for word on an important mission. She had backed off and told him to at least rest.

That's how he ended up in his study at 0500. He had been here all night; the half eaten sandwich she had brought him eight hours ago still sat on the corner of his desk. He should get rid of it or she would be angry he didn't eat it all. But he didn't have the energy.

A loud banging sound came from his front room as someone stormed into his house. William reacted instantly and was alert and armed in seconds. Before his study door flew open he heard his brother Ryan bellow out "Why the hell did you allow that to happen William?"

Ryan stormed into his study followed by his brothers Mark and Erik too.

Three very irate Braddock brothers glared at their eldest brother. None cared that he was armed or looked like death warmed over at the moment. After they were finished with him he was gonna wish he was dead. They were on a rampage. Jeff and Scott had finally told them the situation last night unable to keep it to themselves any longer.

Erik bellowed "Why? Tell us why you let Sam reactivate. We all know and respect how he feels about being in the military."

The commotion had alerted Yvonne and she had come flying into the room just as Erik was yelling.

Yvonne stopped in her tracks. Her normally bright green eyes landed on her husband. He made contact with her eyes and she could see the despair and the regret he felt. She gasped. What Erik just said was true, it was clearly written on her husband's face.

William first looked to his wife. He could see the hurt and shock this had caused her. Then he looked at his brothers and all he saw was pure unadulterated rage in their eyes directed to him. Not one ounce of understanding. He was a dead man if only figuratively.

He set the gun down and sank into the chair. In a despondent choked voice he said "I had no choice. It was the only option open to me to keep Samuel safe at the time. But it …"

William couldn't finish. He dropped his head into his hands.

His brothers were shaken by his behavior just now. They had seen him rage, they had seen him cry on occasion but they had never seen him broken. The utter desolation and despair in his eyes when he had looked at them slammed each of them powerfully. They also now recognized his physical state, he was close to collapsing as far as they could tell. They all wondered what the hell was going on?

Yvonne was the first to react. She went to her husband and knelt close and put her hand on his arm "Will, honey talk to me. Tell me what is going on. Did Sam really re-up and if so why?"

He turned his head to the side and looked into her eyes. William saw concern and understanding. He desperately needed that right now.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. None of this is what I wanted things happened I couldn't predict. I can't tell you what is going on. I wish I could but I can't. All I can say is yes Samuel reactivated. No it's not considered a special assignment. He's stuck for five years unless he …" He couldn't finish that statement either and began to tear up and she pulled him close.

Erik, Ryan and Mark simply stared unable to fathom their big brother in this state. Something terrible must have happened. Courtesy of Scott and Jeff, they all knew there was a Priority 1 and it involved Sam. By William's state it had to be bad and it definitely involved Sam somehow.

After several moments Yvonne pulled away. "I'm going to make some coffee and bring in something to eat. You gentlemen need to talk. I mean talk. No more yelling or bellowing or shouting or any other description you want to use. I mean talk. I'll be back in a bit."

Yvonne glared at the three Braddock brothers lifting one eyebrow and said firmly "You understand me right?"

"Yes Ma'am" they all replied promptly. Every Braddock male knew never to cross or disregard a command given by a Braddock female. Their lives would be hell if they did. The women talked and if they failed to follow a command of a sister-in-law then their wife would make them pay.

When she left the brothers all took seats in chairs around the spacious room. By mutual silent agreement they all decided to wait until coffee was brought before they forced Will to talk. Until then they allowed him to sit with his head bowed and in his hands gathering his thoughts and composing himself.

Yvonne came in with a tray and all three brothers immediately rose. Mark was closest and took the tray from her and set it on the small round table. He poured one cup for her and one for each and delivered them then took his seat.

Mark calmly said "Will start talking. We understand there are things you cannot say but fill us in on what you can."

When William finished telling what he could it was a somber room.

"So there is really nothing you can do to get Sam out early or reclassify this as a special assignment?" Erik asked.

William shook his head no.

Ryan stood to refill his coffee "If there is anything any of us can do you will let us know. We are here for you all."

He then placed a comforting hand on Yvonne's shoulder. Ryan thought this woman was so strong. So much had happened to her children. Yet she endured and retained a brightness and laughter that shone. It was dulled at the moment. She was very worried for her son as they all were.

* * *

 ** _Somewhere in Afghanistan – Inside Tunnel Location 1_**

Sam's mind was a million miles away solidly locked in a pleasant memory as the blows rained down on him. Fortunately this part of his SF training did not desert him. Most often he chose something to do with Jules or his SRU family. Right now he was enjoying the memories of their day of paintball at Wanderlust Lodge.

He had just finished thinking about the ATV race and several of the games. He was on the one about Spike's little spider in the tunnel. As the story was told over and over by Spike the little dime sized spider became the size a Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula.

Sam smiled and laughed out loud thinking about Spike's antics as he retold the story.

Tahir was growing very frustrated. This man would not break and give him any information. He didn't even bother giving his name, rank or serial number.

The one and only time he had spoken at all was when he had answered the question 'who are you?' with a flat emotionless 'when hell freezes over'. No matter what he or others said they never got another response from the man except grunts of pain as some blows landed.

When they were not beating him he was either unconscious or his eyes stared lifelessly forward and the only emotion displayed was hostility. But when they beat him his eyes went unfocused as if a million miles away and he often laughed or smiled, like he was doing right now, very unsettling.

Over the course of eight days this man's behavior had unnerved more and more of his men.

At first, his men had all thought it rather funny a grown man and soldier had a stuffed animal and clutched it so tightly like a frightened child would. His men all had tried to take it from him several times over the past eight days.

None were successful in all attempts until the last one this morning. But two of his men were now dead from that final attempt. Their necks snapped in split seconds when they succeeded to get it from his grasp.

The soldier had flown into a howling fury and his men were too slow to get beyond the reach of his chains. After he killed them he snatched the blood stained, torn duck from the dead man's hand then collapsed to the ground and curled up.

None had thought he was even capable of moving let alone standing after so many days of beatings. Tahir realized he had underestimated this soldier's capabilities. His chains were shortened.

But most of his men were now too scared to even try and take it from him or go near him at all. They started to call him the Malak al-Maut (the Angel of Death) for several reasons. The first reason was because of his dead eyes and wrathful look on his face. The second was how rapidly he could kill. Today was not the first time they had seen him kill quickly.

Several hours after the blast they had found him about five miles from the tunnels as they were heading in to see what had happened. As they approached Tahir watched through the binoculars. He saw the soldier stand take three or four steps then fall down. The soldier repeated this over and over.

By the time they reached him the soldier could no longer stand but he had started to crawl. Tahir laughed at him. The soldier seriously thought he could get away by crawling. What an arrogant bastard.

Tahir sent four of his seventeen men to capture him alive, he wanted information. All watched as his men had him get to his knees. Then two of the men leaned down to pull him up. Their throats were slit so fast no one saw until the two fell to the ground. The soldier had the third man down and nearly slit his throat when the fourth man hit the soldier in the head with the butt of his gun and knocked him out.

The third reason they called him Malak al-Maut was because of all the men that died in the two blasts he was responsible for. Sixteen had died in the first blast. Thirty-nine had died in the second explosion. But the soldier had survived both. Now only three of his men would venture close enough to do the beatings.

Tahir sneered at the man on the floor. He would pay for all he had done. The soldier was no Malak al-Maut, he was just a lowly soldier sent to do another man's bidding.

If anything Tahir, himself was the Malak al-Maut. Maybe that is the name he would use when he claimed responsibility for the CN tower collapse. That should kill thousands of infidels and put fear into all others wondering who had the power to kill so many at one time. It would make Osama look like weakling compared to him.

Growing tired of watching his men beat the man Tahir sat down at the small table and searched the internet for any news of the CN tower blowing up. He should have found something by now; they were scheduled to do it already.

It should be front page news on all news sites. Tahir raged when he found and read a small article. He threw his knife at the soldier. Tahir was so angry his aim was off and it missed him by three inches almost hitting one of his own men.

Tahir continued to rage, Abdullah and Donesh had failed. The article said that while in custody of the police Peyman Alibadi was murdered by Mansoor Chanji who then committed suicide. They reported that the two were arrested on suspicion of being the ones to plant a bomb at the CN tower but they died before police could find out why they planted. The police had successfully defused the simple home-made bomb.

He went and picked up his knife and shoved it into its sheath. The only good news was that their aliases were not found out and no connection to him established. But overall Tahir was still pissed.

His entire supply except what Abdullah and Donesh had with them was destroyed by the man lying on the ground. He would have to use the formula to make more. His entire operation was in a shambles. Two locations and almost his entire stockpile of munitions were completely destroyed and he had only a handful of men left now. Most killed in that last blast.

If he had not been at this old location scoping it out to take over for location two he and all his men would have been killed in the blast too. This damned man ruined everything. He would beat him daily. Never enough to kill him but enough to make him wish he was dead.

Tahir learned that from Qasim, but he couldn't stomach most of his sick methods so Tahir only allowed his men to use fists and kicks. The videos were posted as a warning to anyone who would think to attack his operation in the future. They would know what was in store for them if they crossed him.

The sound of gunfire alerted Tahir that something was going wrong out front. What the hell now he thought as he yelled at the men beating the man to go see what was going on outside. He grabbed his Uzi and walked over to the man he hated with a passion. Tahir contemplated putting a bullet between his eyes right now. No, he decided, this man needed to suffer more.

He gave the man one hard well placed kick to the abdomen with his steel toed boots before he headed out to deal with this next problem. It better not be his men being stupid again. He really needed to find a higher intelligence quotient in his men. They started shooting at shadows more often than not.

The sight that met Tahir's eyes as he exited the tunnel shocked him. Every last man was dead. It was the last thing he saw before he joined them due to two perfectly placed head shots.

Mason and Winds moved forward passed the thirteen dead terrorists. Stealthily they made their way through the tunnels meeting no one. They had cleared every single chamber except the last one in the back. They had been getting discouraged that Blondie was not here. The door was closed. So they did a fast entry ready for anything.

What they found tugged at their hearts. Curled in a ball on the floor was a very badly beaten Blondie clutching Ben's duck close to his heart. They both rushed forward. Mason slung his MK12 SPR rifle onto his back as knelt to check on Blondie while Winds maintained cover in case there were terrorists left they had missed on the way in.

"Mason, what's his condition?" Winds asked glancing back over his shoulder at him quickly.

"Not good, not good at all. Shoulder carry won't work. He has several broken ribs. Might cause one to puncture a lung. He's so dehydrated, need to start an IV soon then I can assess further. But we need to move to a safer location first. We don't want to get caught in here, not defensible" Mason responded.

Winds nodded agreement and went to the door to keep watch as Mason picked the locks on the shackles chaining Blondie to the wall. Mason gently scooped Blondie into his arms easily like he weighed no more than a feather.

Winds glanced back at Blondie in Mason's arms "Ready?"

Mason nodded yes.

"Let's get our little brother home" Wind said resolutely.

Five miles out they found enough cover that was defensible and Mason laid Blondie on the ground. They were both so glad he was unconscious otherwise his wounds would have caused him immense pain while they ran. Mason started an IV and did a thorough check out like Patch had taught them all to do.

Emotion lacing his words Mason told Winds "I don't think he can make it three days travel with all the jolting. Besides the broken ribs I feel his abdomen getting tense and rigid. I think he is bleeding internally. Looks really recent could be a slow bleed or something more serious. I'm not sure how bad. But we can't take a chance. Blondie needs help now. Make the call. See if there is anything he can do."

Winds cussed for the entire five minutes it took for his sat phone call be to authenticated and routed. He and Mason knew it was a long shot to get help here. But he had to try it was the only hope of making this a rescue rather than recovery. Winds knew the General would move heaven and earth to help his son if he could.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Home – General's Study_**

Ryan had just sat back down after refilling his coffee and offering a comforting hand to Yvonne when the General's phone rang. "Braddock"

 _["Package acquired. Need med evac now! Critical" Winds spoke urgently.]_

The General stood and paced "At evac location?"

 _["No. Package too damaged for overland transport. Need evac to us soonest" Winds replied crisply.]_

"Location?" General Braddock requested.

Winds gave him the coordinates.

"Hold." The General sat at his desk and checked the aerial footage of the area pinpointing their location. He was pissed, so close but so far away. William had no helios that could make it quite that far in and back to the base hospital.

William studied the area closely and found about one klick away was an area that looked like it was flat and long enough for a small plane. He turned to Ryan then turned the laptop to Ryan "What do you have available that can make it in and out of this location and retrieve minimum one max three?"

Colonel Braddock immediately made a call detailing the needs to the commanding officer of Air Force operations in Afghanistan. Within ten minutes he had arranged the necessary aircraft. He relayed the information to the General.

"Transport enroute ETA one hour. Relocate one klick north east of present location." He gave them the full coordinates and frequency to contact the aircraft. "Will package make it that long?"

 _["We'll do all in our power to make it so. Moving out." Winds hung up and gave Mason the good news._

 _He helped Mason stabilize Blondie as best they could. Mason gave him one dose of the pain meds sedative combination as a precaution._

 _Winds took the duck from Blondie's hand; he saw the head and leg were nearly ripped off. He quickly tucked it into the waist of Blondie's pants so it was still close to him but wouldn't fall from his hand._

 _Then they headed for the evac location as quickly as they dared trying not to jostle Blondie too much.]_

The General slumped into the chair. He had not said it was Samuel but everyone in the room knew for a fact it was.

Ryan looked at his brother and smiled "Will, you up for a jump seat ride with Zach in his CF-18 Hornet? It would cut your travel time nearly in half."

William hugged his brother. Yvonne hugged him too. Arrangements were made and the General left within the hour.

* * *

 ** _Base Hospital in Afghanistan_** ** _–_** ** _ICU Room_**

Mason and Winds were sitting in the ICU room with Blondie when a young orderly entered. The orderly looked at the two soldiers sitting quietly with the injured one. These two had caused such a ruckus when they arrived five hours ago. They broke all hospital rules but no one could get them to leave the injured soldier's side. They stayed with him every step of the way.

They demanded the doctor follow certain things and even gave him special meds for the soldier. Normally this would not be allowed and MPs would be called. But the smaller one had whispered something to the doctor and they were allowed to do whatever they wanted no questions asked.

She'd never seen anything like it before. It's the reason the injured soldier was now dressed in a loose pair of Army sweat pants instead of a gown and the two men were allowed to be in ICU.

Marsaili looked to the injured one and she flinched. She still wasn't comfortable seeing all the terrible injuries. It was hard to detach and be professional. She really needed to change job roles to one that she didn't have to see people in pain. Maybe a clerk would be a better job for her.

This poor soldier had been so badly beaten and his face so bruised and swollen she would lay odds not even his mother would recognize him. Heck when he first arrived she thought he had rusty brown hair. She had been the one to wash him up and was surprised to find it was blonde.

Marsaili finally recalled why she had come in. She had been off shift for two hours now but she had busied herself the entire time with a singular task she assigned herself. She had found it when she was putting the man's bloodied destroyed clothing into the bio-hazard burn bag.

It had tumbled to the floor when she picked up the cut open pants to check the pockets for keep items. At first she thought nothing of it and shoved it into the bag it was so nasty looking and covered in blood. But before she sealed the bag something niggled in the back of her mind and she withdrew it.

"Um excuse me" Marsaili said softly.

Winds was conked out but Mason looked up at the cute young orderly "Yes" he said tiredly.

The orderly noted the extreme fatigue now in the huge mountain sized soldier's scarred face. But he was so large and intimidating he still frightened her. "Um. It was really not my place to do this but um, something came in with him. I um found it in his clothes. It should've gone in the burn bag it was so bloody, filthy and torn up. But um, I took the liberty of cleaning it and mending it. I hope that was okay."

Noting she had his complete attention and it was daunting to be the object of his intense stare she hurriedly stammered out the last. "I, I worked hard and um I got most the stains out. I had to sew the head and leg up they were nearly torn off. But um, see it's almost good as new." Marsaili tentatively held out a small stuffed duck.

Mason flashed a huge grin that lit up his eyes and before she knew it she was dwarfed completely wrapped tightly in a hug.

He pulled away and saw the surprised concern in her face and softly said "I'm sorry if I scared you with that reaction. Thank you. Thank you so much. It is very, very important to him. I thought we lost it in transport."

Marsaili smiled and relaxed at his words. It felt so good to know she saved something important to the beaten soldier. The huge man's reaction alone told her that but the words were icing on top.

Mason reached out and took it from her. He turned to Blondie and placed it in the palm of his hand. Mason gently closed Blondie's hand around it then ever so gradually and carefully moved his hand to his heart. "Hey little bro you still have the duck. Do you feel it? It's close to your heart."

Contented she had done good today, the orderly watched the mountain sized man as he showed tender care for an injured mate. Soldiers she thought; hard as steel on the outside, but soft as kittens on the inside. She watched a few moments longer as he whispered things she could not overhear.

Marsaili then turned and left them in privacy. It was clear this was a close unit that took care of their own. She wondered about the duck but thought it probably belonged to his kid or something. Many soldiers kept small tokens of their loved ones with them.

Shortly after the orderly left Mason sat in the small unstable chair and continued to look at Blondie. He allowed his internal thoughts to be voiced out loud "Damn good thing you're too tough to kill. But seriously you gotta stop this kid. Too much, way too much. Sometimes I just wish you would say fuck the order, fuck others safety. You are important too. We don't want to lose you. There are ways to get out of this commitment, just say the word and I'll help you do it."

He sighed, he knew Blondie would never do it. It just wasn't who Blondie was. It would be like trying to get a cat to quack, never gonna happen.

Sam's eyes flickered open and landed on Mason.

"Hey Sunshine. Nice to see ya buddy" Mason said to cover the gasp as he saw the empty eyes looking at him. "Ya had a rough time of it. But ya did it. Your mission was successful."

No response at all. Mason's heart hurt. "Okay little bro. You should probably close your eyes now and get some rest. Winds and I are here. We have your back." He wanted the eyes closed, it was too hard to see them like that.

Sam's eyes closed and drug induced sleep resumed.

Winds had awoken while Mason was musing aloud and watched the entire thing. Blondie needed help. He was beyond fine. He was lost. "Mason, he needs help" Winds said softly.

Mason jumped and turned to Winds and said quietly "Christ man you gave me heart attack. Didn't know you were awake. But yeah he does. He's so lost. What was the General's ETA?"

"Should be here in another hour or two depending on how long the refueling stops took. Once he gets here I hope he lifts the blackout. Mission was successful and threats neutralized. There are a lot of people that have been really worried about him for a long time and want to know his status" Winds replied.

Mason nodded and tried to get comfortable in the little chair. He finally gave up and sat on the floor with is back to the wall. Mason breathed out sadly "How are we going to reach him this time Winds? I wasn't with you guys the full time. What did Matt do the last time? What do we do now?"

Winds shook his head and joined Mason on the floor "Honestly I don't know. But I've never seen it that bad. Maybe it's just part of the sedative or something."

"I hope you are right. God I hope you are right" Mason said as he leaned his head against the wall and sighed.

Both realized there was nothing to do about i at this time so closed their eyes to rest. They had brought Blondie safely home. The rest they would begin to deal with tomorrow. Both were just very glad Blondie had a 'tomorrow'.

* * *

 ** _Base Hospital in Afghanistan_** ** _– Hallway Outside_** ** _ICU Room_**

A few hours later found the General and Zach Braddock striding down the hall at a quick pace to Samuel's room. As they drew near they saw the doctor leaving and sped up.

General Braddock stated "Doctor a moment. I need status on Braddock."

The doctor turned and looked at who had called him and immediately came to attention "General Braddock. Who did you need …" then it struck him.

He was new here but damn the kid had looked familiar even through all the bruising and swelling but his mind had not placed him until now. The two that brought him in only referred to him by code name. "Sir. I assume you mean Hell-Froze. The men with him only identified him with a code name and Priority 1 status."

"Understood. Yes. Status?" General Braddock said quickly.

The doctor detailed Sam's injuries "He's pretty beat up. So covered in bruising it was hard to determine all his injuries at first. We did an ultrasound and CT scan of the head, chest, and abdomen. Based on the results we have decided to take an observation approach of the internal bleeding rather than a surgical exploratory laparotomy at this time. The over the last few hours the bleeding appears to be slowing and stopping on its own. But we will watch closely for the next twenty-four hours and if need be we will move to the other route."

"Chest scans showed he has three broken ribs and eight cracked. Luckily none punctured his lungs. The head scans showed signs of a recent severe concussion. He is likely to still be dealing with the effects of it. It caused a little swelling on the brain. We will need to see once he wakes if there is any damage from that. But I'm not too worried in that regard."

"He also has a partial tear to the posterior tibialis tendon in his right ankle. His ankle took a lot of abuse after the initial injury. It will need to be watched carefully to ensure it does not progress to a complete rupture. No weight bearing for at least 3 weeks. "

"Even though none of the injuries are life threatening, he's going to hurt quite a bit for a while. The men with him provided me with the pre-packaged his pain meds but I need his records to know what was in them. He is resting now sedated. His mates have not left his side since they arrived. They could use some sleep. And by the looks of it Sir so could you."

The General ignored the last comment and asked "When can I transfer him home?"

The doctor answered "I'd like to keep him here at least three days. Make sure the bleeding had stopped completely and verify no ill effects from the concussion before putting him in the air. But let's play it by ear. If it looks like it would be safe sooner we can make that call and if not ready after three days will take it day by day. This is his room Sir if you want to go in. If you have no other questions I have other patients I need to check on."

The General shook his head no and the doctor moved to the next room.

* * *

 ** _Base Hospital in Afghanistan_** ** _–_** ** _ICU Room_**

Zachary had entered the room while his uncle was talking to the doctor. He noted both Winds and Mason sound asleep both on the floor propped against the wall. They looked wiped out.

His eyes landed on Sam and he almost cried out. Sam was in the bed with the sheet pulled only to his waist. His chest was bare except for heart monitor leads and a bandage on his right side. There was not an inch of skin he saw from his head to his waist that was not bruised. Sam also had multiple abrasions and small cuts on his face, arms and chest.

He walked close and saw Sam's hand lying on his heart. There appeared to be something in his hand but he could not tell what it was. He was about to reach for it when his uncle entered the room.

William softly but urgently said "Zach stop. Remember don't touch him. Not until we know what state he is in. Your dad would kill me if I let you get hurt."

Zach backed off. He had forgotten that you don't touch Sam unless you had a death wish. In his fight mode, Sam could kill you in an instant even if he looked incapacitated. "Thanks, Uncle Will. I forgot. There is something in his hand though. Was wondering what it was."

The General came close. The sight of his son broke his heart but not completely. His son was alive. Samuel made it out alive and mostly whole. Recovery would take a while but he was alive. The word alive just kept repeating itself in his head. William had been so worried it would be a recovery not a rescue.

Zach pulled the chair close to the bed "Sir. Sit please before you fall. Aunt Yvonne would kill me if I let you get hurt." Zach laughed inside as he used the same words back to his uncle. But the man looked so worn out he looked like he would collapse at any moment.

He was glad his uncle complied. "Sir. Can I make the calls? Is the blackout lifted?"

General Braddock nodded yes.

"Thank you, I'll be just outside the door if you need anything. That way my calls won't wake Sam, Mason or Winds." The General nodded again and Zach slipped out of the room to make the calls.

William shifted his gaze toward the two men sleeping on the floor. The exhaustion was evident on their faces even in sleep. They had not bothered to clean up yet. Both were covered in layers of dust and dirt.

He could see the blood on the handles of their knives and splattered on their uniforms. He looked to the corner of the room and saw their rifles propped up near their vests. The vests both also splattered and the chest of one had a large area covered in it.

William owed these men a huge debt of gratitude. They risked themselves to save Samuel. Samuel had risked himself to save so many others. The public really didn't know how close the threats really were and it was better that way.

The cover story and disinformation on the deaths for the CN tower bomb had worked. The news speculated disgruntled employee rather than terrorist as the reason and with the reported deaths quickly became disinterested. Now they had two very much alive terrorists in custody who were providing information on the extended terrorist network.

Looking back to Winds and Mason again he mused. The public may be unaware but the men in his command knew just how close the threats really were and they were willing to pay the ultimate price to save others. He was glad he had such men in his command. Commendations were in order for their bravery and service to the country. And their service to him personally. He owed them more than he could ever repay.

The General looked back at Samuel. He saw the hand on Samuel's chest and saw the orange duck foot sticking out. He still had it. He was surprised Samuel took something so personal along on a mission, it was not like him to do that. But was glad he did. It was what confirmed it was Samuel in the videos.

William wondered how Samuel had managed to hang onto it through it all. Not something his captors would have likely let him keep. He was glad though. He had observed how it had helped reduce and stop the nightmares at the cabin. William might ask about that when Samuel was ready to talk.

As he continued to visually inspect his son's battered body noting every scar, old and new, William knew his son had been through too much. Samuel willingly took on a critical mission to save thousands if not more lives. A mission with so little probability of survival it was essentially a suicide mission. Samuel was successful and he beat the odds coming out alive.

But fate was going to be cruel to Samuel one day and his luck at surviving would end. William knew he needed to do something he never thought a Braddock would ever do in his life. But he needed to do this for Samuel. His son deserved a chance to live the life of his choosing. He had done more to serve his country than any man he knew.

General Braddock dialed his phone and when it was answered he said "Sir. General Braddock here. Sir we need to talk. I need your help."


	22. What Is Your Name? & Come Home Sam

**What Is Your Name? & Come Home Sam**

* * *

 ** _Four Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room_** ** _–_** ** _2000 Hours (8 pm)_**

Zach was seated in the small hard utilitarian chair not meant for hours of sitting. His butt ached from sitting here on and off for the last eight hours. The General had finally had to order Winds and Mason leave after the third day to get some rest and clean up. They were due back here again in a few hours as they were now rotating shifts so Sam was never alone.

Six hours ago Zach had finally talked his uncle into doing the same thing. His uncle had not left Sam's bedside since they arrived. Zach had resorted to threatening to call Aunt Yvonne and have her order him to leave. That did the trick. Before he left the General in his command voice demanded that Zach call immediately if anything changed. Zach had promised he would.

The first two days the doctor kept him fully sedated. Over the last two days Sam had woken briefly many, many times but he was never responsive. His eyes were unfocused and he did not speak or indicate in any way he heard them.

Waking never lasted more than a minute or so then Sam was back into the blackness. The doctor said it was likely related to coming out of the sedation or the effect of the pain meds and not to worry.

But he changed his tune when he got Sam's full history last night. The doctor found out that this was actually the second severe concussion Sam had in a two month period. One concussion was bad but two in such a short period of time could cause problems. Then when he added the blunt force trauma to the head from the beatings he became concerned. But he said they would have to wait until Sam woke fully to assess what if any damage had occurred.

The doctor had started to reduce the amount of pain meds last night to see if Sam would wake for longer periods of time. He had woken more often but the amount of time did not increase nor was he responsive. Their timetable to take Sam home was now on a day by day basis. The doctor would not release Sam until he could maintain wakefulness and he ascertained the impacts of the concussions.

Zach couldn't put up with the chair anymore and rose for the umpteenth time and strode to the window and lightly banged his head on the window. He wanted his cousin to wake up. He wanted him to be okay. This just wasn't fair. All of them had worked so hard to help him recover the last time. This just wasn't fair. Fate was so cruel to him.

He had been surprised to find out that Matt had a son. He remembered the fun he, Matt and Sam had four wheeling after he got his driver's license. Only met the man once but he really liked him. Matt and Sam had a true brother connection. Sam got pulled into all this to save Ben. Sam would say it was worth it. But as far as Zach was concerned it still wasn't fair. Why couldn't this just be considered a special assignment?

His phone began to vibrate. He checked it. Text message from Blaze again. He typed out 'no change' and sent it. Zach had been the designated go between. He handled all the phone calls sharing information about Sam.

At first they had been non-stop from everyone until he put a key contact in place for each group. His dad was now handling the family. Blaze was handling the JTF2 guys. Parker was handling the SRU team. But even with only three now he still got so many calls and texts wanting the latest info. But right now sadly he only had to say 'no change'.

Zach got angry and kicked the little chair. It flew across the room and banged into the wall making a rather loud crashing noise. Anger released for the moment he stomped over and picked it up and plopped down in it.

Sam opened his eyes startled by a loud sound. Where the hell was he? Why did he hurt so much? These were his first thoughts. He shifted in the bed to get more comfortable. It didn't work and his effort only caused him to groan in pain.

Instantly there was someone in front of him. He was trying to focus but he couldn't make the image clear. No amount of blinking brought it into focus; everything was fuzzy and blurry. The light hurt his head which already was pounding. The sounds emitted by whoever it was hurt his head too. It was too hard to distinguish actual words through the constant buzzing in his ears. Sam wanted to escape the pain.

He wanted to slip back to oblivion where things didn't hurt. Sam tried to block out the painful sound. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Not knowing who it was made him anxious.

Sam pulled away from the hand. The talking stopped. A little less pain as the buzzing lessened a bit. He wanted to ask where he was and why he was in so much pain but he would not be able to hear the answer so he just closed his eyes.

That's when a few words broke through the buzzing barrier 'dammit say something'. The words slammed around in his head spiking his pain. He opened his eyes again and he squinted trying lessen the impact of the light and figure out who it was.

The image had not changed, still too blurry to recognize. Disjointed words pounded into his head 'come, we, all, worried, need, awake, you, something, please, do it'. He needed the sound to stop it hurt too much.

When Zach saw Sam's eyes open, he instantly went to the bed and started talking trying to get a response, any response. He defied what he knew about Sam and hoped it wouldn't be a death sentence as he placed his hand on his shoulder when he was getting no response. Sam pulled away from him. He stopped talking for a few moments but then Sam's eyes closed.

Zach started talking again but didn't try to touch him again. In his frustration he said loudly "Sam, dammit say something." He was happy to see Sam's eyes open again.

Still rather loudly he continued "Sam, come on cuz. We are all worried about you. You need to stay awake. Sam you need to say something. Anything. Cuz please, come on you can do it."

He saw Sam squinting and the pain etched on his face. The light, the concussion, the light hurt him. Zach quickly switched off the overhead bright examination light leaving only the small dim light over the sink on. Zach continued to talk loudly as the eyes stayed open and relaxed a small bit from the tight squint. Thank god he was getting some response.

Less light was better but Sam really needed to get the sound to stop or his head was going to explode. Sam managed to slur out "Stop, hurts, please stop" as he closed his eyes again.

Zach immediately stopped talking. He pressed the call button. He realized that Sam was in serious pain. The slurred speech really concerned him.

The nurse popped in and loudly asked what was needed. Zach saw Sam flinch in pain. He walked to her and softly told her to get the doctor that Sam was awake but in pain and he spoke. He walked back over to Sam who had not opened his eyes. He laid his hand on his shoulder again and whispered "Doctor's coming. Try to relax cuz."

Sam felt the hand again but did not pull away. He heard the buzzing but not the words. Without sight and sound and with the pain things were so disjointed. He felt vulnerable.

He didn't know where he was, how he got here, why it hurt, or who was in the room with him. He also felt afraid, but mostly because there was on big question he had no answer for.

Who was he?

The doctor came in and Zach quietly told him what had occurred. "Likely the concussion, I ordered scans for tomorrow but will move them up now. But first I need to do an assessment" the doctor said.

"But what about the pain? Light and sound seem to hurt him, he needs something now" Zach asked.

The look on the doctor's face was not happy when he related "I could up his meds but that would put him back to sleep. I'm afraid he is going to have to be in pain for a bit while I do the assessment."

Zach's face mirrored the doctors. God dammit he thought. Hasn't Sam had enough of that already? But he understood.

He should step out to call the General. Zach knew he would be dead meat if he didn't call right away but he thought it would be better to have real news not just that Sam was in pain. So he stood at the end of the bed to observe.

The doctor approached the bed. He'd been warned not to touch without getting acknowledgment first. If the concussion was as bad as he thought he knew he would have to speak loudly to be heard. It would hurt his patient but it had to be done. He'd seen many concussions and usually his patients said the ringing drowned out words.

Very loudly, almost a shout, the doctor said "I'm Doctor Nettle. I need to examine you. I need to check your eyes and ears. I need to touch you. Are you okay with that?"

The words hurt so badly but he heard them clearly. He nodded slightly. He felt the hands as the doctor examined his ears. He wanted to scream in pain and pull away when a sharp light lanced his eyes but he just clenched his jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly when the doctor was done.

Loudly again the doctor informed "I'm sending you down for a scan. You have a severe concussion. I see light and sound cause you pain. When we are done I can help with that. But I need to ask you a few questions first though." Sam nodded slightly. "Okay, first question what is your name?"

Sam wracked his brain then said "No."

Zach tensed.

The doctor wondered if this was because the soldier was part of a Priority 1 and didn't know that black out had been lifted so he said "Soldier, the Priority 1 blackout has been lifted by the General. Your code name was Hell-Froze. With that information are you now able to tell me your name?"

Zach relaxed a bit, Sam was following protocol not to id himself, whew.

He was a soldier? What was a Priority 1 blackout? He had a code name? Who the hell was he? He finally answered "No."

Zach froze.

This was not good the doctor thought "Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Do you know what the date is?" Dr. Nettle asked

Sam thought hard or as hard as he could through the pounding. Dejectedly he said "No."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Nothing made sense. Everything in his head was fragmented into a billion pieces. He could not grasp a single memory. Who the hell was he? Anxiety was increased swiftly. He started to rise as he felt the need to run, to flee, to hide.

Zach was rooted in place. Sam, no, Christ no. He started to panic inside. He was going to have to tell Uncle Will that Sam had no memory of who he was.

Dr. Nettle watched closely. His patient was rapidly becoming unsettled. He could see the fear taking over.

He quickly said "It is okay, calm now. This happens with concussions. Relax. Don't try to think too hard. It will come in time. I need you to lie back and relax now."

Then the doctor gently put his hand on Sam's shoulder and pushed him down to the bed. "I'm going to up your pain meds just as soon as the scans are done. It will put you to sleep. Until then we are going to make it very dark and quiet for you. We'll be back in a few to take you for the scans, relax for now."

Sam nodded slightly.

The doctor indicated for Zach to follow him from the room and the doctor turned off the only light on in the room as he left. In the hall he said "Sam is suffering from the effects of the severe concussion. The scans will tell us the current condition, if the swelling increased or decreased. As you saw he is having trouble remembering. Don't panic, it is usually temporary. To help with the pain there needs to be no sounds and no lights for now. Just sit with him but no talking."

Zach nodded. The doctor left to order the scans. Zach slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

Don't panic the doctor said, don't panic. But all he wanted to do was panic. Zach was trying very hard to get ahold of himself when he heard laughter down the hall. Winds was teasing Mason about some cute orderly.

Mason had just shoved Winds lightly but made him lose his balance and ram into the wall. Winds righted himself and glared at Mason.

Stopping, Mason smiled and said "Serves you right. Christ man the little slip of a thing looked to be young enough to be my daughter. She was just being nice to Blondie."

Winds was about to retort when he noticed Zach sitting on the floor outside the room. A look of panic on his face. Winds hurried forward and bent down "Zach what's wrong?"

Zach looked to Winds "I gotta call Uncle Will." He pulled his phone out. They were shaking.

Winds stayed his hands "What is it?"

Mason went to push the door to Blondie's room open.

Zach stood quickly grabbed his arm and said urgently "Quiet, no sound, no lights."

Mason stopped "Why?"

"He woke up." Both Winds and Mason smiled, but it quickly faded at the look on Zach face. Zach explained what had happened.

"So he really doesn't know who he is?" Winds asked.

"I have to call Uncle Will now" Zach said dejectedly.

"No wait, wait until the scans come back. The General was so wiped out he needs rest. Maybe it is just temporary and he will remember shortly" Mason stated.

Zach shook his head no then dialed. He knew his uncle needed to know this and now.

* * *

 ** _Seven Days After Rescue – SRU HQ_**

Greg was in the briefing room going over the final candidates to replace Leo. He was sad to see him go. He really was a pretty good fit for the team. He had all the skills necessary except negotiating skills, but they could have helped him with that given time. But right now he was torn between Kelly Haverson and Mike Fringle.

He really didn't want to pick one. Sam was coming home in the next week or so. Zach had not said much other than they were delayed because the doctor did not want Sam to fly yet because of the concussions. Understandable. He was pulled away from his musings as Ed entered.

"Hey Greg, decide on our new team member yet?" Ed asked pulling out a chair and sitting.

Greg twisted his mouth into a concentrated smile "Either Kelly or Mike." He closed the files not ready to make the decision.

Spike rounded the corner "Hey Boss, did they tell you when Sam was gonna be back?"

"Not exactly, in the week or so. Zach said it all depends" Greg replied.

"Is he coming here or the base to recover?" Jules said as she joined the group.

Greg said "Not sure, but most likely the base since he is in the Army. Zach was not real clear with his information. Almost like he was hiding or avoiding something."

Wordy strode in "Who was avoiding what?" he asked.

Ed piped up "Boss was just saying that Zach was holding something back when he gave details about Sam."

"I can't wait to see him. It's been too long. They won't even let us talk to him or Sykpe or anything. Strange, must be part of that whole stupid blackout protocol thing. I'm just so glad he is coming home soon" Spike added swinging around his chair happily.

Everyone laughed. They felt exactly the same way.

"So, guys, out to the gun range, we got some training to today. Down two we are not on call. But we'll patrol a bit later." Ed told them.

Jules asked "Where's Leah?"

"Had some personal things to attend too, family I think. She'll be gone the next four weeks" Greg told the team.

He opened the files again. With Leah gone he had to select someone. "Input time, Kelly or Mike?" They were no help, two for Mike and two for Kelly.

Greg made a decision. It would be Mike. He had better sniper skills and tactical skills than Kelly. Kelly was great at negotiations but they already had a full complement of negotiators. "I'll bring Mike in early next week. We can put him through his paces in the shoot house."

Spike muttered something under his breath. Jules nudged him "What was that Spike?"

He looked at her surprised she had heard. No one but Sam ever heard him when he muttered under his breath. His hearing was too damned acute. He could never sneak up on Sam always knew when someone entered a room. "Nothin" he quickly answered.

"No it was something, give it up. What'd ya say" she lightly punched his arm.

Spike looked as Jules embarrassed "Said he was no Samtastic."

Jules smiled feeling the same exact way. Although Mike was a blue eyed blonde, Spike was definitely right he was no Samtastic.

Greg looked to them all and said sternly "None of that. We certainly don't want to repeat the same mistake a third time."

Duly admonished the team headed out to the gun range.

Jules piped up "Meet you guys out there in a moment, I just need to make a quick stop." Jules headed for the women's locker room.

She went to her locker and opened it. She took out her small black notebook and looked at the picture of Sam. She ripped off a small slip of paper and wrote 'please don't forget me. please come back to me. waiting for you Sam'. She folded the paper, put the book away and closed her locker then left the women's locker room.

Jules covertly slipped into the men's locker room. She went to Sam's locker and silently slipped the note into the vent. As she leaned her head on the locker she thought this is so hard waiting for him to come home.

But at least she knew Sam was coming home now. Zach had not told them much of anything since the first night. Just he had broken ribs, an injured ankle, tons of bruises and a bad concussion that kept him from traveling.

Whispering to the locker Jules said "Come home Sam. Come back where you belong" before she headed out to the gun range to beat the pants off the guys in target shooting.

It would be easy, too easy. She missed the challenge of trying to beat Sam at the range. His eyesight was exceptional which made him so accurate.


	23. You Hear Me?, No Desk Duty & The Goose

**You Hear Me?, No Desk Duty & The Goose**

* * *

 ** _Eight Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room_**

Sam woke. He had no real concept of time and could not tell if it was day or night it was always pitch black and silent in the room. Every time he woke he would get apprehensive. Unable to see clearly, hear without pain or remember anything scared the crap out of him. But at least the room was kept dark and quiet so the pain was bearable.

He opened his eyes and saw the tiny sliver of light near the floor at the doorway. Even that small amount of light hurt and he closed his eyes and turned away from it. His sensitivity to light had gotten worse not better to the point that any light now caused shooting pain.

The doctor was the only one that talked to him and that was always very brief so as to not cause him too much more pain. He was told others that cared about him were with him so he was never alone and if he needed anything to just call out.

Over the course of time he had seen four distinct shadows moving around the room but lately it was only three. He hadn't seen the fourth one in three or four days given the meals he counted. Meals were the only way he could track time right now; although he ignored them mostly not wanting to eat.

Sam sometimes felt their hands resting on his shoulder when he awoke. Knowing someone was close by helped calm the fear a bit even if he didn't know who they were. There was also this small stuffed duck he clutched often. It helped.

He felt like a child holding it but at this point he didn't really care. His world was upside down, dark, confusing and painful. Anything that helped anchor him was appreciated even if it was a child's toy.

But when he woke this time there was something different. At first the change unsettled him. He calmed his racing heart by breathing slowly to a four count allowing his mind to focus on the difference. His mind finally registered the change. Actually his ears did.

The constant painful ringing buzzing sound was gone. He could hear. There was no pain from sound. He heard soft talking to his right. It was too low to distinguish words but the sounds were clear and didn't bang around in his head. Gravelly due to disuse Sam got out "Who?"

At his single word he heard several people immediately rise and come quickly to his bed. One spoke low and softly "Can you hear me? Does the sound hurt?"

Sam started dryly "Yes" he coughed and tried to wet his cottony mouth.

"Wait" another voice said and he heard rustling and a sound he couldn't quite identify "Here, open up, got some ice chips to wet your whistle."

A spoon entered his mouth with a small amount of ice, it melted in his mouth and the cool liquid sliding down his throat felt good. As he swallowed the voice asked if he wanted more. He nodded yes. This repeated twice more.

Clearing his throat slightly Sam said a bit raspy "Yeah I can hear you and no doesn't hurt anymore." Sam heard what sounded like high fives as hands slapped against hands.

The first voice asked expectantly "Do you know who you are?"

Sam replied "No. But who are you?"

Zach was the one talking. He was glad that Sam could hear and was not in pain from it but saddened that Sam's memory had not returned yet. But at least there was progress.

He answered "Sam I'm one of your cousins, Corporal Zachary Braddock, RCAF. Just call me Zach or cuz."

Mason went next "Man it's glad to hear you speak Sunshine. I'm Sergeant Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich'O'Naoimhín, but everyone calls me Mason. Little bro we served in the same JTF2 unit for four and half years.

Sam heard the deep rich bass voice and felt a huge hand as the man placed it on his shoulder and squeezed. Sam heard the mouthful of a name and tested it out "With a name like Murchadh-Ailpein Srònaich'O'Naoimhín I'm not surprised you go by Mason."

The others laughed.

The third voice, the one that had offered the ice, sounded happy as he said "Christ Mason, Blondie was the only one who could ever say your name. Well except for the General. Must be where you got the ability Blondie. I'm Winds by the way. Officially known as Master Warrant Officer Nathan Simons. But no one calls me that unless I'm in trouble. So Winds will do. Kid, we were together in the same unit for six years."

In the space of a few moments he was called Sam, Sunshine, little bro, kid and Blondie. Christ even they didn't know who the hell he was he thought wryly. He shifted a bit in bed; he ached all over but especially his ribs and ankle. Cautiously he said "So who am I?"

The three shared a look and they picked Winds. Winds shifted positions with Mason and came close and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Speaking sincerely Winds stated "You my brother are someone very important to lots of people. Your name is Samuel William Braddock. You have lots of nicknames but most call you Sam or Blondie. Currently you are a Master Corporal in the Canadian Special Forces, JTF2. Until recently you were a Constable with the Toronto Metro Police as part of their elite Strategic Response Unit on Team One. Prior to that you were also in JTF2 that's when we met and served together."

Sam's head was spinning. Not only a soldier but in Special Forces and in SRU. Why back and forth? He had so many questions. He started to ask a question as the door to the room flung wide open.

Bright light flooded the room. He squeezed his eyes shut as his hands flew up to cover his eyes. At the same time he had turned away quickly trying to escape the pain the light caused only to cause more pain in his ribs as he turned so fast. A loud hiss of pain followed by a deep extended groan escaped his throat. He was dizzy from the pain and teetered on the edge of losing consciousness.

Three men instantly reacted. One ran to the door and closed it. One instantly threw something over his head blocking out all light and gently helped him reposition on the bed. The third yelled at the person who had entered.

Apparently they had failed to follow orders posted on the door for entering the room. Whoever it was got dressed down heatedly for not knocking and waiting for someone in the room to open the door.

As the pain continued to stab in his head and throb in his chest the offender set down a dinner tray and left the room.

Mason asked softly "Pain subsiding yet Blondie?"

Sam shook his head no. The light had been like knives plunging into his eyes through to the back of his skull. So intense the pain it made him nauseous too. The smell of the food didn't help. He hissed out gravelly "Food out or gonna be sick."

Zach grabbed the tray and took it outside then returned quickly. "Better cuz?" he asked as he removed the cloth that had been thrown over his head.

Sam shook his head no as a deep groan of pain escaped again.

Zach urgently asked "Do you need pain meds?"

He nodded yes. The cloth was returned to his head as one of them quickly left the room. A large hand landed on his shoulder as the cloth was removed again.

The bass voice said "Try to relax Blondie, relief is coming."

Mason patted Sam's shoulder lightly and looked to Winds. Both had deep lines of concern etched in their faces. They hated to see him in such pain.

Sam started taking deep slow breaths in through his nose, holding it then blowing them gently out his mouth to a count of four to try and calm his riotous stomach and ease the pain in his head and chest.

Winds watched the breathing and saw the pain lines around Blondie's eyes soften ever so slightly. "That's good Blondie, sniper breathing. Comes in handy for lots of stuff doesn't kiddo? Keep it up."

As he gained some control of the pain through breathing there was a fleeting image in his mind of a bald man with solid blue eyes counting with him. He wondered who the man was. He also wondered what sniper breathing was. He had only started breathing like this because it felt natural to do so.

There was a knock at the door and the cloth returned over his head. They called out okay. The man and a nurse entered. She administrated a small amount pain meds explaining the doctor did not want to put him back to sleep. This was just enough to take the edge off. It acted fast and did just that. Cover back on as she left and then back off again.

As he lay there eyes closed recovering from the pain Sam heard a click like a door being locked.

Zach turned back to Winds and Mason "Can't have that happen again. The sign is not enough. Winds can you have the base commander assign a MP to watch the door?"

Winds nodded and made a quick call setting it up.

Pain now at somewhat manageable level Sam opened his eyes to the pitch black room again. He started to ask questions beginning with what the Winds guy meant by sniper breathing. The three laughed as Winds explained and they pulled over the hard small chairs to sit close to the bed.

For the next few hours he asked and they answered all the questions they could. All four hoping that answers would trigger his memory to return.

Nothing triggered his memory. Fatigue from controlling the pain finally won out and he fell asleep mid-sentence. The three pulled back to the far corner and whispered regarding his status. Each glad he could hear but still worried about the rest of it.

Zach phoned the General with an update.

* * *

 ** _Nine Days After Rescue – Special Forces Base Ottawa – Physical Therapy Department_**

"Mom?" a ten year old boy said.

"Yeah Ryan" his mom said looking up from her two new case files to her son.

Bouncing a bit on the exercise ball he was sitting on Ryan said "Those two guys over there look familiar. I know I've seen them before." He lost his footing and rolled off the ball landing on the floor on his butt.

Exasperated his mom said "Geez Ryan careful or we'll be back at the doctors again today for a cast on your other arm."

She reached down and helped him up. "Sit on a real chair, quietly and read your book. You have a test on it at the end of the week. I have work to do, two new patients to meet. Already running behind cause you just had to climb to the top of the jungle gym and fall off" she said as she as she smiled at him and ruffled his hair then went back to the files.

"But mom, they do look familiar. Especially the one with black hair" Ryan insisted.

She followed to where her son was pointing, a bad habit she had tried and tried to break him of and failed. She stopped as her eyes landed on a group of four men. Her son had an almost photographic memory like she did, it was eerie sometimes the things the two of them remembered from long ago. In this case again he was right two were familiar, one especially.

That jet back hair, warm hazel eyes and smile; those broad shoulders she would never forget. His face and smile had inundated her dreams for months after her one look at him years ago in the Royal York hotel lobby. He had caught her gawking at him and a group of other soldiers and SRU officers while trying to get Ryan to go to the pool. "Quit pointing Ryan, bad manners."

Flustered and blushing at the memory she diverted her eyes and went back to finish a quick review of her PT patients seeking refuge in professional behaviors. First up was Corporal Parsons, bullet shattered the femur, difficult recovery. She noted the special instruction that all his sessions were to be coordinated and occur at the same time as her second patient. Ah she realized he needed extra support, the buddy system approach. Those SF guys always looked out for their own. She smiled.

She opened the second file. Captain Blain, bullet wounds to the hip, thigh and shoulder. She noted that this case she was taking over from Bruce who was having difficulty working with the soldier. In the notes it said he would rage and yell. She laughed to herself, Bruce was such a pansy and not a very good PT. Soldiers were like that, if you couldn't put them in their place or ignore it you had no business working PT with soldiers.

Closing the files she said "Okay Ryan, sit here and be good. Just have these two to work with then I can get you home. Grandma will watch you tomorrow and the next day the doctor says you can go back to school." She rose and went to get her assessment tools. Then she would find her volunteer assistant to round up her patients.

Her assistant, Apollo, had been a huge help for almost the past two months. He had been great at encouraging her patients. Some of the more reticent and depressed ones had made so much progress with his help. She only had him for another few weeks before his was released from whatever punishment had placed him in her hands. She would be sad to see him go.

Blaze, Cameo, Pawn and Russ were sitting in the PT department waiting for the physical therapist to arrive. Blaze and Cameo were informed she was late due to her kid getting hurt at school but would be with them shorty.

"So Blaze, you still haven't gotten any more update on Blondie?" Russ asked.

"No. Zach keeps texting back 'no change'. Same thing as everyone else is getting. The General has not returned any calls. His aide says he is too busy at the moment; apparently he's in some important meetings. He is in country, not even with Blondie right now. So Zach is the only contact and he's saying nothing more than doctor won't let him fly yet because of the concussion" Blaze responded frustration evident in his voice.

"You say that like you think more is going on" Pawn stated as his mind worked every angle. He was always trying to see the unseen; trying to be three moves ahead on a chess board; hence his code name Pawn.

His mind starting to think of reasons putting things together. It must be one hellava concussion. Some effects of a traumatic brain injury could be devastating such as convulsions or seizures, loss of hearing, vision, speech and memory or changes in moods. He liked the guy and sincerely hoped it was none of those. He decided to keep these thoughts to himself, no need to spook others if this was not the case.

Blaze shifted in his wheelchair "Yeah well my gut tells me there is more to it. My gut is never wrong when it comes to Blondie."

It was quiet as all four got lost in their own thoughts at Blaze's comment. Blaze just knew that Zach was not telling everything. He had watched the horrible videos. Something really bad must have happened to Blondie.

His mind conjured up lots of wild things; he wondered if his face had been disfigured. Never once in the videos was his face seen. Whatever it was the General did not want it widely known just yet what had happened to Blondie. The General better have a damned good reason for keeping everyone in the dark.

Cameo rubbed his thigh trying to ease the pain and said "I sure as hell would like to know how he ended up in Afghanistan and injured. Must've been related to the Priority 1 he called. Also would like to know why Winds and Mason are there and why they won't communicate with us."

"Get used to it kid. Relax, it's all part of being in JTF2. There will always be things you are not privy to" Blaze responded.

Then he took his own advice and relaxed. Whatever reason the General had for not communicating Blondie's status it was valid.

"Yeah well, might not have to get used to it. If I can't get this leg back in shape I'm out of JTF2. I'm not cut out for desk duty assignment. It would kill me to sit at one all day" Cameo said despondently.

Blaze nodded commiserating "I hear ya, same here. No desk duty for me either. The last PT told me to just accept I was finished in JTF2, at least field work wise." He smiled roguishly "He didn't like my loudly worded response."

Russ laughed heartily "From what I hear you scared the shit out of the last PT. You raged so loudly at him and gave him such a rough time they've assigned you to their most hard-assed, take-no-crap from soldiers PT. Some call her the Ice Queen because of her looks and because you always need to ice the muscles after working with her. Be nice this time or you might just get more than you bargained for Blaze."

"I'll only be nice to her if she has the same goal as I do. I'm NOT desk duty bound. I need someone willing to push me hard and kick my ass so I can get back to what makes me happy, field work" Blaze retorted determinedly.

Pawn looked at Cameo and said encouragingly "You just need to adopt Blaze's attitude dude and you'll be back in no time."

Blaze whacked Cameo's shoulder "I challenge you. First one to walk the parallel bars with no hands gets free beers for a month."

Cameo smiled for the first time in weeks. With buddies like these he was starting to see hope "You're on."

The group looked up as Apollo and an absolutely stunning woman with long straight platinum blonde hair and gray eyes approached. All four sets of eyes were on the woman as Apollo spoke.

"So Cameo finally decided to get off your lazy ass and make it to PT. Good to see ya buddy. We're gonna whip you back into shape. Lizzy is the best" Apollo stated confidently.

Apollo still felt intense guilt for Cameo's condition. He was gonna work extra hard to do whatever was necessary to get Cameo back to the field.

Cameo moved his eyes from the beautiful woman to Apollo and replied sheepishly "Yeah well, Blaze, Pawn and Russ dragged me here."

He had been wallowing for weeks refusing to go to PT thinking 'what's the use my JTF2 days are over'. Pawn had finally said something to Russ who had talked to Blaze. Blaze had come to his room yesterday and read him the riot act rather loudly. He told him he was not taking no for an answer and that Cameo would report to PT today. If he didn't Blaze would personally see him dragged here by MPs in cuffs if necessary.

All eyes moved back to the woman as she smile then said "It seems you know each other, good. I'm Elizabeth Wilder your physical therapist. You can call me Lizzy. Cameo I take it you are Corporal Parsons."

Cameo nodded thinking if only he knew the PT looked like this he would have been here weeks ago.

"Good. If you're not afraid of hard work and some pain we'll have you better than new in no time." She smiled cheerfully at the young Corporal. He blushed.

She turned to the man with the jet black hair and her heart fluttered. He was more impressive close up. "That would mean you are Captain Blain?"

"Yep, but just call me Blaze." He gave her a warm smile. "So we're clear from the get go, my goal is to return to field work. If you don't believe I can get there I need another PT and we don't need to waste one another's time. If you do, then I'm all yours and will do all you ask of me and more" he stated frankly not letting the beautiful face sway him from his goals.

His determination utterly attracted her to him like a bug to a flame. She always had a thing for men in uniform and strong determined men even more so. Lizzy's smile blazed and lit long banked fire in her icy gray eyes as she positively stated "Well let's get started then. Seems like I have two men that need to get back to the field asap."

As she started her assessment of Cameo, Blaze thought, so this exquisite woman is the most hard-assed, take-no-crap from soldiers PT. He had a feeling he was gonna really enjoy working with the Ice Queen.

* * *

 ** _Eleven Days After Rescue – The Goose – 9 pm_**

Wordy ordered the first round as he readjusted on the bar stool "Four Molsons, a ginger ale and Mike what's your pleasure?"

Mike answered "Just root beer tonight. Got kid duty early in the morning."

The server nodded then said laughingly "Your turn again Wordy. Man with Sam gone you're racking up the hit points again. By the way how is Sam?"

She had overheard them talking about Sam when they were here last time with Leo before he left and wondered if they heard anything new. She liked this whole team and missed Sam he was always so nice to her and a great tipper.

Wordy smiled and answered "Nah, just got the first round today welcoming Mike to the team. Mike this is Amber, Amber, Mike."

The two nodded at the introduction.

"We haven't heard anything new" Wordy shared. Amber nodded and sauntered off to fill their order.

"So Mike, tell us a bit about you" Spike said grabbing a handful of pretzels and settling in to listen.

Mike looked at the five around him. This was the first time any new team had been so welcoming to him before. It was nice. "Well, I'm married; Karen and I have six kids."

"Whoa six, really. You got Wordy beat by double" interrupted Spike.

"Yeah well triplets run in both our families. We lucked out and got a set of both. The boys are eight and the girls are four." Mike went on to share a bit more about himself both professionally and personally. "So what about you all?" Mike asked picking up his soda.

Over the next three hours the team shared about themselves and generally had a good time getting to know Mike. The only one who was a somewhat reserved was Jules. It wasn't that she didn't want to get to know him; it was something kept nagging at her.

The not knowing more on Sam's condition. Something just wasn't right, she had a feeling, a very strong feeling. They had a connection and it told her he was in pain, that he needed help. Jules couldn't explain it to the others so kept quiet about it. She tried hard to engage in conversation but her mind wandered to Sam often.

The team had night shift tomorrow so no one was in a hurry to get home. It was after midnight when Greg was about to start into another story and Dale approached the table, Greg introduced Dale and Mike then said "Dale, Team Five got off shift a bit late tonight?"

Dale nodded and started to say something.

Greg cut him off "Before you ask no new word on Sam."

Dale smiled and wondered just how many times per day Parker was asked that question. "Well Sarge I wasn't gonna ask. Actually I think have some news for you on Sam."

"Really. What? How? Think you have information?" Jules perked up from her silent mood.

"A good buddy of mine is still a MP. He is stationed at the Base Hospital in Afghanistan. We talk on occasion; I keep watch and help with his wife who is eight months pregnant with their first. He called me last night when Mary didn't answer for two hours. All worked out fine, she was just sleeping at the time. He forgot the time difference. She was ticked off at him for waking her up."

He got looks of get on with it "Anyways, we got to talking afterwards and he told me he has been on a boring assignment for the past four days. He stands watch at a patient's door to make sure people knock before entering" Dale said.

Ed indicated for Dale to sit. Dale pulled over a chair sat then ordered a beer when Amber stopped by to see if anyone needed more.

Dale then continued "I'm not absolutely sure but by his description of who goes in and out of the room I'm pretty sure it is Sam. There are only three who enter besides the doctor and nurse. He said two are basically nondescript but he described one that can be none other than Sam's huge JTF2 buddy with the scarred face. What's his name?"

Spike interjected "You mean Mason?"

Dale nodded "Yeah, that one. My buddy described him as big as a grizzly and just as mean looking. It seems the soldier in the room is suffering from severe concussion among other injuries. He guards the door because the guy has extreme sensitivity to light. He got stationed there after someone opened the door unexpectedly and nearly sent the guy unconscious due to the pain it caused."

The looks around the table were somber. Ed asked "So you think that is Sam?"

Dale nodded yes.

"It would fit with what little we know so far from Zach. A concussion like that would mean he couldn't travel" Greg said.

They all nodded. Jules feelings surged, it was Sam and he was in pain. Her stomach clenched.

Dale took a long draw of his beer. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news but would tell them what else he was told. "He also said the guy, I assume Sam, is basically blind because of it."

Jules gasped. Dale glanced at her and saw the pain that news caused her. The next would surely hurt worse.

He quickly added the rest trying to reduce the pain by ripping a bandage off quickly "The worst part my buddy said was the guy had amnesia, doesn't recall who he is."

No one said a word too shocked by the information. Jules stood, grabbed her purse and said "I have to go." The guys all saw the tears welling in her eyes.

Wordy stood and stated firmly "I'm driving you home."

She weakly tried to protest.

Ed said "Jules go with Wordy. You are in no shape to drive."

Jules nodded as she angrily swiped away a tear that managed to slip out. Wordy put his arm around her shoulders and walked her out.

Greg and Ed looked to Spike. The look of devastation on his face clearly indicated he was in no shape to drive either. Greg said "Spike I'm taking you home."

Spike's hand snaked down to the side of his pants. Wait he wasn't wearing the cool pants. "Boss we gotta stop at the barn first. I need to get something. I should've sent beauty to Sam when we first heard. Maybe it will help. I want to send it first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure we can stop and get it. Eddie?" Greg said.

"Got it covered Greg" Ed nodded.

Greg and Spike left.

Dale looked dismayed "Sorry I ruined your welcome party Mike."

Mike just shook his head "No worries man, not ruined. Things happen, we were nearly wrapping up anyways."

Ed looked to Dale "Thanks for the information. Not easy telling bad news is it."

Dale shook his head.

Ed turned to Mike "Sorry Mike to put a damper on your welcome. Let me explain a little so you are not in the dark about our reactions." Ed brought Mike up to speed with just enough history for him to understand.

"Man I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it is just temporary, concussions can cause things like that" Mike said.

The three sat there for almost another hour nursing a single drink chatting. As they talked something began to bother Ed. When it finally made itself known to him he excused himself saying he was heading home and he'd see Mike tomorrow at noon for workout and not to be late.

* * *

 ** _Outside the Goose – 1:45 am_**

In his car outside the Goose, Ed dialed his phone. When it was answered on the fifth ring he said "Blaze, sorry it's so late but I need to let you know something."

 _[Blaze looked at the clock, almost two am. He was completely wiped out from four totally intense PT sessions with the Ice Queen over the past three days so said groggily "Sure no problem, what's up?"]_

"It's about Sam. My gut is churning a bit" Ed said.

 _[Instantly awake from the tone in Ed's voice and his words Blaze pulled himself to a seated position "What is it?"]_

Ed informed him of everything Dale had told them tonight. "I thought you should know. My gut is churning because we know Sam still has enemies and from the sounds of it, if Dale is right and it is Sam then he is in a very vulnerable condition. If information made it to us in this roundabout way it could make it to someone who wants to do harm to him. Not that I know of any direct threat, just being cautious."

 _[Blaze listened intently. His gut feeling was right again. The General definitely had a valid reason for keeping quiet. Ed was also right "You are correct about the information flowing and he would be vulnerable if that is his current condition. I'm sure Winds and Mason are with him though. But I'll make the appropriate calls. Thanks for calling Ed. I likely won't be able to share anything back to you but just know we have his six."]_

"I know. We trust you. But if you do hear anything you can share" Ed replied.

 _["I will, you know I will if I can." Blaze hung up and instantly dialed another number.]_


	24. Flashes, Eyes and Pain & Political Chess

**Flashes, Eyes and Pain & Political Chess**

* * *

 ** _Twelve Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room_** ** _–_** ** _0900_**

He was getting depressed sitting in the dark doing nothing and still not knowing who he was. The omelet he was eating was runny and tasteless. He mostly pushed it around the plate as he did with most every meal. He briefly thought he could make a better omelet maybe with jalapenos to give it some kick.

Then he wondered if he even made omelets. He tried one more bite, nope, done, hospital food was gross. What he wouldn't give for something that tasted good. A fleeting flash of orange and green and then lasagna and fresh bread crossed his mind and made his mouth water.

Sam wanted to leave so badly. He had an urgent sense of uneasiness that constantly gnawed at him about being in a hospital. But leave to where? In his present state of mind he really wanted to go somewhere safe, warm and comforting.

As he absently pushed the yellow egg around the plate he had a flash to fast to retain much detail of a light yellow kitchen full of laughter. It gave him the sense that he knew of a safe place like that where he would always be welcomed. That tiny thought left him feeling slightly better.

The past few days the guys called Zach, Winds and Mason had shared so much of the history of the man he was supposed to be. Some of it was unbelievable and he thought they were pulling his leg. Who the hell would throw themselves off a cliff to catch someone else? Or any number of the other risky acts he was supposed to have done to save others.

He wondered if the Sam man they described had a death wish but he didn't say that out loud. They seemed to admire, admonish and find humor in the actions all at the same time.

These guys laughed a lot. He found himself laughing with them sometimes. They lifted his spirits a little bit with their antics. He could tell they really cared for the Sam/Blondie guy.

Other things they told him about his supposed life were just so sad. Losing a sister so young right in front of you, man that had to hurt. When he asked why he had left JTF2 and gone to SRU then back they all went silent. Winds had gently told him why he left then told him about his life with SRU. Finally he told him why he had rejoined.

A small part of him was glad he couldn't remember all those things. Killing your best friend had to hurt a lot. The re-upping to save a son the man never knew he had seemed honorable to him. But then Winds and Mason told him about his last mission when the Zach guy was not in the room. They told him he could not tell anyone about it, top secret and all. Overall it seemed unfair one person should have to endure all that the Blondie/Sam guy did.

The guys had shared tons of happy, sad, horrific, unbelievable, raunchy and humorous memories all in the hope something would spark him on an emotional level to remember who he was. They really truly tried. All three of them were a bit hoarse for all the talking they did. Unfortunately nothing clicked. It was still a black box to him.

When they recounted the stories it was actually like hearing about the life of someone else or a character in a book. The only potential positive to come from it was as he got more information about that life, strange feelings and fleeting images were now happening more frequently while he was awake.

They occurred randomly. They were always nothing he could easily describe or fully grasp and were gone an instant later. Most didn't even stay with him afterwards either, like it never happened. But he knew it happened because in the instant they occurred it felt familiar somehow and left him feeling soothed like getting a hug from someone who cared.

What bothered him most though was that his eye sight had not cleared yet. All was still blurry and unfocused. However, the sensitivity was decreasing a little bit. He could now stand very low and dim light but anything more sent shards of pain to his head.

He thought how useless a sniper without eyesight would be. He could tell from the tone and inflections of the three they were getting more worried the longer his sight didn't clear and memory didn't come back.

They also wanted the General, apparently his father, to return and were wondering why he was gone so long. Two of them were very protective. Zach, his cousin, usually ran all the errands and left to sleep somewhere else. But Winds and Mason never left him.

Mason and Winds slept on a cot that was brought into the room. One was always awake as far as he could tell. Once there was a little light in the room he noticed they were always armed too. He was unsure why. Things just didn't make sense to him. He was so utterly confused and lost most of the time.

He overheard Zach, talking on a phone and kept hearing him say no change. Sam knew he was talking about him. He could tell Zach was avoiding telling whoever he was talking to his real condition. He would hate to be in Zach's position.

What should he tell? Body beat to hell. Couldn't stand light, can't see. No memory. It was better people didn't know, there was nothing they could do about it. Why worry them when they were so far away?

He had found out he was currently in Afghanistan. His home was in Toronto or was it Ottawa? He couldn't remember. But either one was so very far away.

Sam pushed the rolling table with awful omelet on it away from him and closed his eyes. He was so tired. He should try to sleep, but sleep brought its own problems.

Fragmented, elusive images haunted his sleep. Eyes. Mostly he saw eyes. But sometimes they were in disjointed faces. Maybe his mind was just playing a sick joke on him. He couldn't see and all he dreamed about were eyes.

Eyes that showed so many emotions but usually focused on negative ones. He felt the emotions intensely; every single one of them, like they were real and he experienced them before. Maybe he had from the stories Winds and Mason told of what he did as a soldier.

Most of the eyes reflected death in a myriad of ways. The eyes staring at nothing tore him to pieces. These were usually the sources of his nightmares. Less frequently he dreamed of blue and brown eyes that echoed raw grief and was usually accompanied by ungodly screams of grief.

He wished it was more often but occasionally he dreamed of eyes of various colors that made him want to laugh or smile. One set in particular made him feel a sense of deep longing. He liked dreaming of those brown eyes, he could get lost in them and never care.

Then there were a two sets of green eyes alike but different, one boy, one girl. The green one shined with the joyful innocence of small children and left him with a sense of hope.

Eyes, so many eyes, but none that helped him see who he was.

There was a knock on the door. Sam put the blackout cloth over his head. Winds called out it was okay to enter. The door open and closed quickly.

Dr. Nettle said "Good Morning Sam. How are you today?"

Sam knew the voice and as he pulled the cloth off said "Bout the same Dr. Nettle."

The doctor asked "Nightmares still happening?"

Sam nodded yes. There was no denying it. At least two of the three were always here and saw how he woke almost every time he slept. Drenched in sweat and crying out. They would talk softly to him and made sure he had that stuffed duck.

At first he thought it a strange thing for a grown man to have. When he finally asked why he had it Winds had explained it to him and why it was important to him. Somehow it just helped. Holding it didn't so much reduce the terror and fear feelings from the nightmares but brought happier and nicer feelings to the forefront. It was tucked under his pillow right now.

"Anything that sparks even a slight memory?" Nettle inquired.

Sam considered this. Not that he wanted too but he tried to think about last night's nightmares searching for anything. As he thought the smell of coffee tempted him. The doctor must have carried in a cup with him. Something familiar and important niggled at the back of his mind just out of reach as he inhaled the rich scent of coffee.

"Can I have coffee yet?" Sam asked, it almost sounded like begging.

Dr. Nettle looked at his cup. He wished he remembered to leave it outside. Sam was always asking for coffee. "No sorry. No coffee yet."

He heard Sam mutter dammit under his breath. Nettle felt bad but his patient was having enough trouble sleeping that he did not need to add caffeine to the mix. "Anything at all you recall?"

Eyes. It was always eyes. Sam decided to share; maybe they had information that might help it make sense to him. "It makes no sense to me, not really a memory, nothing concrete. It is so disjointed, but eyes. Last night I dreamed of four pairs of eyes."

"One pair seemed to belong to an older man they are icy blue that command obedience. Another comes with a man's face and they are wide open brown eyes with a weird mix of childlike innocence but full of grief. The third usually flashes briefly with a woman's face and are beautiful sable brown; they are downright captivating and sexy. The last are of a very young boy, soft green eyes full of courage and joy. I have no idea what it all means or who they belong to if anyone specific."

The doctor looked to the three for help interpreting.

Winds listened closely to the descriptions. He was pretty sure he knew the answer. "Blondie. I believe I know who those eyes belong to. All four are descriptions of people that are very important to you."

He moved closer as he said "The icy blue commanding eyes can be no one other than your dad's, the General. I think you would know him when you saw him from the eyes alone. The male brown eyes sound like they belong to Spike on your SRU team. He can act so much like a kid and a few months ago you all lost Lou another SRU officer to a landmine. Spike and Lou were best friends."

Sam interrupted "Did I hear you right, a landmine with SRU? What the hell, landmines in Toronto?"

Winds continued "Don't know all the details, but yeah SRU isn't for sissies, that's for sure. You get into lots of dangerous situations with SRU. Spike was not able to re-pin the mine, the bastard that set it glued the hole. Lou stepped off to save Spike. He was devastated as you all were watching him die before your eyes. You have been helping Spike bounce back. Both of you losing a best friend tragically, you can relate to what he was going through. So the brown ones are probably Spike."

"And the woman and boy?" Sam asked saddened to hear that someone had died and his friends had to stand by and watch it happen unable to do anything to help. That had to be hard on them all. He thought quickly, he still had empathy even if he didn't have memory.

A lightness entered Winds voice when he said "The woman's eyes are definitely Jules Callaghan who is a teammate and very close friend of yours in SRU. You and she dated for a bit but decided to be just friends so you could remain on the same team. Stupid kid, you should have dropped the team in an instant for that one. She's a keeper."

Laughing Winds continued "Hell the first time you met her you called her a sexy sniper chick and she and the rest of Team One drew down on you thinking you had a gun and were a threat to Jules."

"I did what?" Sam asked incredulously, this Sam guy was a cocky bastard.

It was still hard to think of Sam as him, nothing fit. Winds, Mason and Zach had a great time razzing him completely as they described how he had first met Team One and his first call with them when Ed went all coffee shop on his ass.

He then asked them how they knew so much about the SRU team and they told him about how the team and unit met in the waiting room after the gang war. Which lead into a whole explanation of the gang war and the entire aftermath down to how his cousins helped him return to SRU.

When they were done, he wasn't so sure if they were pulling his leg or not. Who the hell was this Sam/Blondie guy? He sounded like a trouble magnet and so screwed up. Who wouldn't be after all the terrible things that happened to the guy and to people he cared about. Did he really want to remember him or just create a new simpler life moving forward?

Getting back to the eyes, Winds said "I think the last ones, the little boy. I think those belong to Ben. You two only spent a short time together but Daphne could not stop talking about how deep a connection you and Ben established in such a short time."

Winds sighed as he said "Little Ben is the spitting image of Matt, especially the eyes. You and Matt had a very deep brotherly connection. You two were always there for each other. Never failed one another. Also, all of this stemmed from you giving up the life you wanted to try to save Ben, which you did. Ben is happy, healthy and safe because of you. Before we left to find you he constantly asked when he gets to see his Unca Sam."

It was quiet for some time allowing Sam to digest all the information. After the last bit he decided he definitely wanted to remember. All the good, bad, horrific and wonderful things. Yes he desperately wanted to remember.

Sam wanted his fucked up, insecure, neurotic and emotional life back. He didn't want to be lost and alone. As screwed up as the stories made him sound, he could tell people cared about him and he really care about them. He must be worth knowing.

Mason finally said "Does any of that help, trigger something, ring any bells?"

Sam thought stupid choice of words. Never did he ever want to hear another damned bell ringing. But the names and information connecting with images? Sadly no help, not the tiniest hint even with all the intense emotional components they shared in connection with them.

"No nothing" he responded despondently as he wiped a tear away.

It was quickly followed by more. He tried to stop them but it was too overwhelming. He didn't want to be lost. He didn't want to be alone. Everything he was was just gone, taken from him. It hurt so much.

Mason patted his shoulder but said not a word as the tears started to slip from Blondie. Winds was on the other side and did likewise. Zach was near the middle of his bed and simply put his hand on top of Sam's. All three felt close to doing the same seeing the hopeless lost and lonely look in his eyes.

Winds thought back to the blank look just after they brought him in. He never dreamed just how lost Blondie could be.

Dr. Nettle observed the tears and feeling himself moved emotionally shifted a little and looked down at his clipboard and cleared his throat to cover his feelings.

Quickly getting himself under control Sam looked toward the shadow of the doctor and asked in the same depressed voice "Doc is it possible that my memory never comes back?"

"Sam, like I said. The brain is mostly a mystery to us. It may take a long time, it may be instant. But from what I see in your scans I'm hopeful it will return. There was swelling but no damage I can see. I just can't tell you when or how it will return."

"I had one patient that when he saw his dog the memories came back in a rush. Others have reported triggers that range from kissing their wives to holding their children to driving their car to even cleaning a toilet. Usually it is something that evokes a strong memory. The memory might be happy, sad or just unique or special. All I can say is try to stay positive. Depression can suppress memories" Dr. Nettle told Sam in a reassuring voice.

The doctor lifted the papers on the clipboards smiled and said "I do have some very good news for you though. Given your latest scans yesterday they show only a very, very small amount of swelling left. Down enough that it may be safe for air travel, just have to validate with the ophthalmoscope. If it all checks out it looks like we will be able to send you home soon. Being home may help with the memory."

Home? Would he even know his home? He was uneasy in the hospital and wanted to leave but to where?

Sam still couldn't see. How would he take care of himself if he could not see? Sam's mind wandered a bit and thought maybe he dreams about eyes because his were worthless right now. If he was a sniper as Winds said he was, if they didn't get better he would never be a sniper again.

What would he do to support himself? He could never be a burden on anyone. Would life be worth living without his eyes?His emotions rushed around his head so mixed up not settling on one for long but always coming back to fear; confusion, fear, anger, fear, despondency, fear, frustration, fear, grief, fear, on and on it went.

The wealth of mixed emotions inflected every word but fear was clearly heard by all as Sam asked "What about my eyes?"

With that one question Dr. Nettle realized that the loss of sight scared this young man more than the loss of his memory. He knew he was a long distance marksman and understood his concern. Without eyesight he could no longer do his job. Hell the soldier's nightmares were all about eyes too.

Nettle sighed wishing he could promise it would come back and said "Again the same thing Sam. Same answer as yesterday. You are making progress. You can now handle low light. Time. Time is what is needed."

He saw Sam's discouraged and fearful look. Reassuringly he stated "Light sensitivity is very common with concussions and it goes away in time. You had two serious ones and a lot of blunt force trauma in a short span of time. Your body has a lot of healing to do. Most would not have survived what you have. I've reviewed your entire medical history. Based on what you have recovered from in the past, I say give it time to come back. You're a hard man to take down Samuel Braddock."

The doctor noticed the partially eaten breakfast. At least he was eating a bit more now. That was one challenge down. He moved closer then asked "Done with breakfast?" Sam nodded yes. "Okay good."

Winds, Mason and Zach all noted the grimace that fell into place on the doctor's face. It conflicted with his previous positive statements. But the source became clear as the doctor spoke to Sam.

He cleared his throat then said "So, it's time I got to what I came in here for this morning. I need to do a thorough examination of all your injuries today. Need a complete injury status report with the possibility of sending you home soon."

"This will not be just a cursory check like we've done the last few days. I'm very sorry but it's going to cause you a lot of pain. I wouldn't do it if it were not necessary. I need you to take a dose of pain meds now. I'll wait a moment while it takes effect. If during or after the assessment the pain becomes unmanageable just let me know and I'll give you an override dose."

Dr. Nettle had been happy to read about the pain med pump in his records and how useful it was for Sam to manage his own pain. When Sam could hear again he had ordered one immediately. Sam did so much better being in control. No extreme highs and lows, he maintained a more even level by not having to ask. Sam may not know who he is but some behaviors are innate and this man definitely did not ask for pain meds unless the pain was unbearable.

Sam leaned back and took a deep cleansing breath before he nodded yes and pressed his pain meds pump to release the small dose. He felt it enter his blood stream. It was very fast acting.

"Ready?" the doctor asked.

Sam nodded not looking forward to the pain he knew was coming.

The doctor started with the ankle moving it gently but testing the full range-of-motion. The ankle was still very swollen. His whole foot and leg up to the lower part of the calf were completely black, blue and purple. Mason and Winds deduced from the times Ali supplied to the blast that Blondie he had run for four nights.

Sam had done the entire mission in the tunnels on an ankle that most people would not have been able to bear weight on. He was damned lucky the tendon did not rupture completely. They watched as Blondie grimaced and heard the slight hiss in pain as the doctor moved it. Sam leaned back and breathed slowly he could manage this pain.

Next the doctor needed to check his legs. Moving to remove the sweat pants hurt his chest, abdomen, and ankle but mostly it hurt his pride as he could not do it himself. Mason lifted him gently from the bed as Winds helped the doctor to carefully remove them. Mason lowered him then the doctor checked the multitude of cuts and bruises that covered his legs.

Many were caused when he was slammed to the rocky ground after the blast. Others were from all falling and crawling he did as he tried to make his way to safety after the explosion. The raw, sliced up and previously infected knees were a direct result of the crawling. But none of them really knew how he had sustained those injuries.

Luckily, they were healing nicely with mostly tender pink skin now. When the doctor was done checking the legs the guys helped him dress again and position him on the bed.

Nettle gave Sam a moment to settle back and recompose as he made his notes. Then he explored his abdomen to ensure no new internal bleeding had started. It had stopped on its own and they did not have to go in surgically to stop it. But his abdomen was still very tender due to all the kicks he had received there.

Unfortunately, the doctor had to push hard in some spots to properly evaluate his condition. Winds saw the beads of sweat forming on Blondie's brow as he closed his eyes, clenched his jaw and concentrated on breathing slow and deep through his nose as Nettle probed deeply.

Sam blew out a deep breath when the doctor finally stopped.

Removing the bandage over the wound in his side caused him to flinch slightly as the tape pulled off of tender skin. The wound had gotten badly infected from all the dirt embed. Mason said it probably happened during the beatings he received and laying on the ground for eight days. Six days ago under local anesthesia the doctor had to incise the wound and go deep to clean it out and debride the infected tissue then stitch it closed.

Dr. Nettle was now removing the sutures. The little tugs as they were removed didn't bother Sam at all. Nettle then assessed the myriad of other cuts and abrasions covering the front side his upper body and arms; most of which had scabbed over or healed already. This part of the examination was a small reprieve from pain.

Next, Sam had to sit up and swing his legs off the bed. Mason helped steady him until he had his balance, which was a bit off with his unfocused eye sight. The doctor needed him fully upright while he checked all the cracked and broken ribs. His ankle throbbed hanging down. The doctor first checked all the bruising and cuts on his back.

Then he started checking the ribs. Pain shot deep with each probe of ribs and took Sam to the edge of his ability to control as small groans escaped. The doctor apologized for causing pain as he continued to examine the ribs.

When Nettle was finally done Sam was sweating, his breathing was short pants and he was teetering sitting up. Mason and Winds gently helped him lie back and Zach propped his ankle on the pillows again. Dr. Nettle gave him a several minutes to regroup as he made more notes.

Dr. Nettle set down his clipboard "How's the pain? What level?"

Sam indicated level eight through clenched teeth.

"I'm going to override." the doctor stated and Sam only nodded.

The doctor dialed in the dosage, entered the override passcode and administered the meds. He waited a few minutes for it to enter Sam's system.

He referred to his notes "Everything is healing nicely. I can clear you for travel for those injuries. I have one important examination left to do. Need to make sure there is no swelling on the optic nerve. I can't release you for travel if there is any swelling left. We both know this gonna hurt like hell and I'm truly sorry but it is necessary and unavoidable. I need you awake otherwise I'd just sedate you to do the examination."

Sam nodded fortifying himself for the onslaught of pain he was about to feel.

"Alright, here we go" Nettle said then pulled out his ophthalmoscope.

He held one eye open as he aimed the bright light of the scope into Sam's eye checking for swelling of the optical nerve where it inserts at the back of the eye. Sam's eye instantly tried to close. Lightning flashes seared and stabbed into his head as the doctor held his eye open and checked one then the other of his eyes with the scope.

Sam tried to hold back the screams but they came out as mangled sounds of intense pain. He held on for as long as he could, knowing the exam was important but this was beyond his control even with the extra meds given. His eyes rolled back as Sam slipped away from the pain into the comfort of darkness.

Nettle whispered to an unconscious Sam "I'm truly sorry for the pain that caused you. You did good, rest well now soldier."

He considered his patient a bit longer then dialed in another larger dose to keep his patient in a drug induced sleep because he truly needed the rest to heal. As he finished, he began thinking of which specialist he would refer Sam to when he got back to Ottawa. Dr. Blue he was the best ophthalmologist he knew there. He wished they had a good one here but sadly they didn't.

Looking at the three men positioned close to the bed Dr. Nettle saw their worry and he said "No swelling. All looks good for travel. Just need an hour or so for paperwork then whenever the General decides to move Sam all will be ready. We can deal with the light sensitivity in a variety of ways for travel. But he needs rest right now and he'll be out for at least a good five hours with the dose I just gave him. I'll be back to check on him in two hours. If he wakes or seems to be in pain before then have the nurse get me."

The three nodded and the doctor left the room.

Winds just barely registered the doctor's comments. He was stuck in a horrible loop hearing the mangled screams and the look on Blondie's face just before he went unconscious. He wished it didn't hurt him so badly. He hoped the doctor was right about his eyes healing in time.

If he wasn't, it meant an end to both military and SRU careers. Blondie would need a lot of support from all his family to make a new life. They would all be here for him. They would not leave him all alone.

Angry over his inability to stop what was happening to Blondie, Winds turned to Zach and asked heatedly "When is the General due back? He's been gone for six days now. What the hell is he doing anyhow? Blondie needs him here."

Mason saw the storm brewing in Winds and needed to head it off before it blew at Zach who in no way deserved it. He put a large hand on each of Winds shoulders and made eye contact then said in a deep bass calming voice "Relax Winds. Your anger won't help Blondie right now. Your anger is displaced. It's not Zach's fault the General is not here. Probably not the General's fault either. You know how he feels about his son."

Zach was angry too for the same reason, seeing Sam in such pain. He understood Winds anger was not directed at him.

He answered anyway "All Uncle Will told me was he had some important meetings or conference he had to attend. Something called by the Commander-in-Chief. I called my dad and other uncles and even Scott and Jeff but no one has seen or talked to him since he has been back home. We all know he would be here if he could. As instructed I leave a message daily on his encrypted line letting him know Sam's condition. He never returns my calls, so it must be big."

Zach let his own anger loose as he kicked the poor undeserving chair again knocking it clear across the room this time and slamming into the wall.

Angrily and loudly he said "I just wish he would let me tell the others Sam's true condition. It is getting so hard to keep quiet. They are all so worried. I hear it in all their voices every time they call. They are going to be so mad that we kept this from them. It's not fair to keep them in the dark even if there is nothing they can do about it right now they care too and should know."

Mason looked at Zach steadily and said questioningly "Kid, you do understand why the General doesn't want the information out. Right?"

Zach just looked at him confused, thinking why can't family know, the blackout was over.

Mason saw he didn't comprehend the situation so he asked "Do you ever wonder why Winds and I are always armed and never leave Blondie? That one of us is always awake with him?"

Zach looked at Mason's and then Winds' holsters. No he hadn't really wondered about them being armed. They are military. But now to think on it, in a hospital it was strange. Them always with Sam he had chalked up to the brotherhood they shared.

Again the look was one of confusion. At first Mason couldn't believe he didn't grasp the situation. But then he just assumed as a Braddock he would know and forgot about his age. Zach was still very young and inexperienced. Never actually been in a combat position and he was not in SF. He may or may not know all the details of things Blondie did and the impact of the investigation on a number of people's careers.

Mason sighed then explained "Blondie's SF JTF2 as a result he has a potential for lots of enemies, especially here of all places. Hell, he probably still has some in SF from the fall-out of the investigation into his service. It would put him at great risk if people knew his condition. He's an easy target right now. In his current state Blondie wouldn't know friend from foe."

Mason pointed to Blondie "We all just witnessed how bad-off he is physically, can't even sit without help to steady himself. With these injuries and lack of vision he cannot even protect himself. Keeping quiet is for his safety."

He moved toward Zach whose mouth was starting to hang open and finished "Just one wrong word by someone in an innocuous situation could spell trouble for Blondie if people who wanted to do him harm found out. Blondie's safety is more important to the General than the hurt feelings or worry of family and friends."

"My god, I never thought of it that way. I understand now. Christ I should have thought of that. I feel so freaking stupid right now. My brother Adam would have my head for being such a dumbass" Zach breathed out as he sat down overwhelmed at the thought of the risks Sam's condition would pose to him.

Zach looked up at Mason and Winds "Would one of you just hit me for being such a god damned idiot?"

Mason gave him a quick playful shove backwards with only a small amount of his strength. It knocked Zach over in the chair and he landed on his ass.

Winds laughed out loud "Christ Mason, the kid was only being rhetorical. Better be careful or you'll have to explain to the General why his nephew is hurt."

"Sorry didn't mean to knock him over. He must be a lightweight like you I guess" Mason said chuckling.

All three laughed and Mason reached out to pull Zach up.

Smiling Zach said "Lightweight my ass. You're just the size of a damned grizzly bear and just as powerful. Glad Sam has you protecting his six."

Mason's stomach growled loudly. Zach stared at him "Christ you even growl like one. Hungry I take it?"

Mason nodded.

"I'll be back in a bit with food. Gonna run to the PX and grab a few things for Sam too. He's gonna need a shirt for travel. I think he's not eating cause the food is crap here. Did you see that omelet he tried to eat? Gross. Last time I was there I saw they had some of his favorite power bars. Anything in particular you guys want?" Zach asked.

Winds and Mason provided Zach a list of things.

Zach left reviewing his mental list of items to get them. He still felt like a complete idiot for not recognizing the risk to Sam. He was a Braddock. He should have known better.

He had started feeling like the lackey last few days when he was the one always sent to get stuff. Thought they were pulling rank. But Zach understood now and felt like even more of an ass.

Zach was just glad the rest of the cousins didn't know how clueless he had been. Otherwise he would never, ever live the razzing down. He looked at his watch 1030. He did the mental time shift calculation 0200 in Ottawa and Toronto.

At least four hours of peace before calls and texts would start again. He now had the resolve to answer 'no change' without feeling guilty. Well maybe just a small twinge of guilt, but knowing it was for Sam's protection made it okay.

* * *

 ** _Twelve Days After Rescue – Special Forces Base – General's Office – 0115 (1:15 am)_**

Stretched out on his office couch, General Braddock was making plans for tomorrow in his head. He was obstinate and he would eventually succeed. This he knew for a fact because he would not accept failure on this mission. It was just maddening at the moment. One god damned capricious hold out. He needed unanimous agreement, not majority agreement.

He sometimes truly hated the politics that had to be played at this level. It was an arduous, twisted, interwoven political chess game. But his son's future was held in the balance not some benign plastic chess piece. He hated that Samuel's life was being treated like that of a god damned disposable pawn. To him Samuel was the most important piece on the chess board and had to be protected at all costs.

He had called Commander-in-Chief Jerrell James McFergus, James to his longtime friends when not in formal settings, for help. His request for assistance had been answered with more help than he could have imagined. James had arranged for him to meet separately with all committee members. He and James had met to discuss tactics and had devised a plan on how to approach each member individually.

The Commander supplied him with some information on the investigation into Samuel's service that even he had not been privy too that would add power to his case with some members. He had to carefully choose the points of the case he presented to each committee member depending on their security level, personal biases and political agendas. That had been tricky. The last holdout, number sixteen, only has a level three security clearance so he could not share the most compelling reasons with her, making this even more difficult.

The last six days he had drawn on his formidable strength to bulldoze through and attain his goal. Going from one committee member to another had tapped almost every artful skill he had cultivated over the years in service. Laying out his case over and over in various ways had required every ounce of his focus. Sixteen damned committee members, sixteen different presentations.

Five had capitulated easily and agreed it was the right thing to do, all of them either were current or had military experience and understood. Seven had taken a little effort to swing to his position; this was a mix of military and two civilians. Three more all civilian career politicians had been a very hard sell but eventually agreed. Tonight he had gotten number fifteen to finally agree.

But number sixteen refused to budge. She clearly had her own closeted agenda. He just needed to figure out what it was to determine how to proceed in order to get her to agree. She was a calculating and callous career politician with sights on moving from the House of Commons to the Senate.

McFergus had also suggested another line of attack that might completely circumvent the committee decision. He assigned a JAG lawyer to investigate the binding legality of Samuel's contract, being that it did not follow the normal terms of early release. But all this was taking so much time. He was still waiting for the JAG findings. Although preliminary reports indicated it was binding even though unique.

He had been very happy to hear the report from Zach that Samuel got his hearing back. Samuel's condition worried him so much and he wished he could be there. But at the moment this was far more important. This was Samuel's future he was working diligently to make happen.

Poor Zach was getting impatient wanting to tell the others Samuel's full condition. He knew that Zach was beleaguered with calls and texts, the boy could handle it but it would be tough. He should have told Zach why they couldn't give out more information before he left but some of the reasons were so highly classified that Zach did not have the necessary security level and he was not in SF.

The best he could come up with at the time with his sleep deprived mind was to simply order Zach not to communicate anything so as to not worry the family and friends because the condition was likely temporary and they were too far away to do anything but worry.

He hadn't expected to leave Samuel so soon. It had been very hard to do. Samuel had just woken up and he was in such a bad state with the light sensitivity and ringing in his ears. He couldn't even tell Samuel he was there or he would be back as soon as possible.

The C-in-C McFergus had arranged the meetings so expeditiously. When he got the call from McFergus he had to have the air controllers hold the departing plane on the tarmac for fifteen minutes until he could arrive in order to make it back in time to make the first meeting.

The General had wanted Mason, Winds and Zach to maintain a low profile but didn't have time to give instructions. He wanted them to stay well below the radar until Samuel could be transferred home. It had bothered him when Zach told him MPs were guarding outside the room. That could draw unwanted attention.

Samuel had enemies both terrorists in Afghanistan and still likely a few in SF. They had cleaned house in SF and JTF2 but there were always tentacles unseen.

William had learned his lesson well in that department with Corporal Merrill. That still stuck in his craw that the man had been so close to him and almost killed his son with no compunction at all. There were days he still wished he could pop off Merrill's head; prison was too good for him.

Christ he wished Samuel was able to travel right now. He desperately wanted to move him to a more secure location. But he wasn't able to fly due to the swelling. The doctor had said something about the pressure could cause more swelling and potentially permanent damage, something he could not risk. So he left him in the care of Mason, Winds and Zach.

He was glad that Winds and Mason were with him now, they would protect him. William knew they clearly understood without being told they were Samuel's first line of defense and he was placing him in their care when he left. He trusted them to keep him safe and they knew it.

So far so good. No threats had risen up yet. His analysts kept him apprised that there was no chatter in the back channels or the dark net on Samuel. Now if he could only sway this last member he could return to Samuel.

Then he could focus on getting him well enough to travel home. Please fate, don't be cruel to him now. Let me get this done for him and get him home safely.

William checked his watch 0130. Enough time to get four hours of sleep then back at it. He closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.


	25. Sleepless Night

**Sleepless Night**

* * *

 ** _Twelve Days After Rescue – Special Forces Base Hospital – Blaze's Room – 0200 (2:00 am)_**

Blaze hung up with Ed and immediately dialed the General. As he had spoken with Ed he had debated whether to call the General, Winds or Zach. He decided on the General. If Winds was on protection detail like he assumed he would likely ignore a call from him thinking it would be personal. Knowing Winds as well as he did, he would ignore all personal items until he was off protection detail. Just the way he operated.

He hoped to god the General answered. Zach might answer but he did not have an encrypted phone and he didn't want to say anything on a non-encrypted line, too risky. He could use code but Zach wouldn't understand. But then again Zach could just hand the phone off to Winds. Although he didn't think of that until after he dialed the General.

The General better answer or he was gonna have to get out of bed and go find him. Blaze gripped the hanging bar above his bed and shifted his weight trying to get comfortable. As much as would want to go find the General in reality that wasn't gonna happen.

He could barely move and he really needed more ice. Every damned muscle ached from his PT sessions with Lizzy. She was definitely kicking his ass, asking more than he thought he could do, but she helped him get it done.

As the phone was on the fourth ring he thought the General had not answered any previous calls but he never called this late so maybe, hopefully …

 _[His secure phone rang; he looked at the time 0200, only a half hour of sleep. Christ who was it now he thought as the phone rang a second time?_

 _William looked at the number on the third ring. Blaze at this hour? He had avoided him for so long focusing on his single task._

 _He still couldn't tell him all but decided to answer given it was such a late hour or actually better said an early hour for a call. It was not like him to call at this time. It must be important._

 _Just after the fourth ring a little groggily he answered "Braddock."]_

"Sir, Blaze. You have a security problem" Blaze stated authoritatively.

 _["Details?" he answered sitting up instantly on edge. God damned fate. It was a fucking four letter word in his mind right about now.]_

Without naming Blondie at all Blaze explained what Ed had told him and how the information had made it to them. "I assume they are with him. They need to know. No directed threat but he should be moved."

 _["I wish I could, not cleared for travel. Location is the safest we have there. Thanks for the heads up. I'll take it from here" General Braddock responded and both hung up.]_

Blaze did not like the situation but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He could only hope that Blondie's condition improved enough to get him home soon. He understood that they had no safe houses there that would meet the needs Blondie had right now. Even though the hospital was the safest location there it was still too open.

He was irritated with himself, had been since he woke up in the hospital weeks ago and found out what had happened to everyone. Blondie was in this position because he failed to protect Daphne and Ben at the safe house. Because he had been too god damned distracted by personal issues to make sure they were not followed.

Stupid rookie mistake and he was so far from being a rookie it wasn't funny. It was like the damned parachute incident all over again. Blondie jumped to the rescue when he fucked up.

But so many more had paid the price for his inattention this time. Blondie, Winds, Angus, Hal, Daniel, Cameo, Daphne, Ben and the SRU team all would not have been hurt if he had just done his fucking job better that day. For the first time ever he wondered if he was getting too old to be in the field. It made him very agitated.

As he tried to relax he thought. Daniel and Hal thank god had recovered well from their wounds and were back on duty like Winds. He needed to visit Angus tomorrow now that he was out of isolation and could have visitors.

It would be a long recovery for Angus. It was sad to hear him struggle with the knowledge that it had ended his career. The bullets had damaged one kidney and his liver beyond repair. Luckily he had gotten a liver transplant and he could live with one kidney. But his JTF2 life was now gone.

Blaze was just glad that it hadn't ended Angus's life. They would all be there for him. Help him make the transition and find a new life. Maybe he should get him in contact with Spike.

They were both into geeky, techie things and bombs. That might help Angus out of the blues and find a path forward. He decided he would contact Spike tomorrow and enlist his help. Much like Pawn and Russ had enlisted his in helping Cameo. With the PT they had now, he could see Cameo making a full recovery.

He lay staring at the ceiling a long time. Blaze felt intense guilt for what had happened to everyone but especially Blondie. His body drained but his mind raced through so many memories, both good and bad.

A long time later he looked at the clock on the wall 0500. He knew he had another PT session with the Ice Queen in four hours, he needed some rest. Drawing on his training he forced his mind to slow and quiet down and he finally slipped into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

 ** _Special Forces Base – General's Office – 0210 (2:10 am)_**

"God dammit" he raged as he stormed to his desk. He should have kept the damned Priority 1 in place. He had gone soft and wanted to let friends and family know something. But he didn't foresee these injuries or complications at the time, just broken ribs and injured ankle along with bruising is what he thought he was dealing with when he lifted the blackout.

Samuel had concussions before and never had an issue like this. Twenty/twenty hindsight was such a bitch sometimes. It showed you all your flawed thinking.

General Braddock dialed and when answered asked "Travel status?" He got an answer that pleased him greatly. He continued "Compromised. Prepare exfil package plus two within four. No directed threat but all force authorized to keep package safe. Bring medical records. Go code sent separate."

Winds responded "Wilco" and they hung up. Winds would know exactly what to do. William needed a go code. His tired mind struggled to come up with one. His eyes landed on his coffee maker. He texted 'coffee' to Winds.

He stood and walked to the coffee maker and started it now instead of its pre-programmed 0500 start time. William rubbed his sleepy eyes as he watched the lifesaving dark liquid start to drip into the carafe. He quickly switched out his cup for the carafe and watched it fill. Putting the carafe back in place he took the full cup and sat down.

As he set it down to cool he thought Zach was going to be pissed but he could not go where they were going. The destination was one of their deepest cover safe houses and non SF personnel were not allowed.

He trusted Winds to explain sufficiently to Zach. There was also the fact that Zach's arranged leave was rapidly coming to an end only two days left until he had to report to his base.

As he blew on the coffee he thought that he truly owed his brother Ryan for all his help. He would have to thank him somehow. If it weren't for him, Samuel may not have made it out of the desert alive. He had arranged his rapid transport to Afghanistan. He arranged for a two-week leave for Zach.

Taking a much needed long drink he thought that he owed Zach too. He would make it up to his nephew somehow. Zach had handled this well for his age and experience. He had all the qualities they looked for in recruits for Special Forces and JTF2; he was a prime candidate. Might just have to talk to him and see if he was interested now that he met the age and length of service requirements.

As the caffeine jolted his system into gear the General dialed again "Mike, travel ready. Wheels up in four at most. Destination same. Records will accompany. Immediate staff plus two with package. Go code sent separate."

 _[Mike responded "Wilco" and they both hung up.]_

William texted 'coffee' to Mike.

It was all he needed to say. Lieutenant Galloway would know exactly what to do. They had already discussed most of the plans for when Samuel was ready to travel. He already had the details he needed to arrange appropriate transportation.

He pulled the file on his desk to him and opened it. He reread the latest detail his analyst had dug up on number sixteen. He would try the last committee member one more time. If he did not get agreement from her later today it would have to just have to wait until after he saw that Samuel was settled and safe.

General Braddock looked over at the bags in the corner of his office. Bags he had packed for Samuel and himself days ago. He had crammed as many items in them as he could think of that might help jog his memory. They contained pictures of all the family, his unit buddies, his SRU team, a few mementos from Samuel's bedroom, his medals, and a jersey of his favorite hockey team among other things.

Yvonne had looked at him strangely when he grabbed the items. She knew he could not explain but she trusted him. How she handled the stress of not knowing all these years he never knew. What he did know was she was a strong resilient woman. He thought that it was a good thing Samuel got a large dose of her in his genes. That same resilience had helped him through so much.

He had hugged Yvonne long and hard when he saw sadness enter her normally bright eyes. She was an astute woman and based on what he was putting in the bags and knowing Samuel had a concussion she had worked it out.

William saw when final confirmation hit her as he put the last two items in the bag. Two special coffee mugs Samuel had bought for when they shared their morning coffee during his lung recovery. They each had a large image of an alien on them; one was labeled 'Dad' the other 'Son'.

He turned his head back to the papers before him. Inhaling the rich scent of coffee and taking another sip he focused again. No more sleep tonight; need to figure out her agenda.

* * *

 ** _Spike's Home – 2:30 am_**

Rubbing his hands over his head in frustration for the last five minutes Spike was at his wits end. He muttered aloud "Dammit, just dammit. You cannot die on me now. Come on. You have to work."

One knee was bouncing quickly up and down as he stared at the innards of Beauty. For the last forty minutes he had been trying to figure out why she would not hold a charge anymore.

Old, just old he thought. Then he thought no not just old, utterly prehistoric when it came to technology. This was over seven years old. In the tech world things become old after a few months. He had researched the schematics of Beauty but not much was found on something this ancient. He had tried so many things. Nothing was working.

He looked at the clock on his desk, 2:30 am. He shouldn't call but he needed to bounce ideas off of someone. He needed to fix Beauty and quickly.

Samtastic needed Beauty and he could not fail him. Reluctantly he dialed the phone. He hated to call so early in the morning, but he was sure he would forgive him for waking him up.

 _[Angus startled when his phone rang. Who would be calling at this time of day? He reached over and saw it was Spike. He answer "Hey man, what ya doing up at this hour, working the night shift again?"]_

Spike was surprised the phone was answered so quickly "Nah, not tonight, but tomorrow. You sound to awake to have been sleeping yourself. What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?"

 _["Just couldn't sleep. Glad ya called. How's things going? Heard you got to use the special toy I gave ya" Angus said smiling.]_

"Saved our butts; been meaning to call you and thank you for that. That extra fifteen seconds let us all get out. You need to see about getting a few more of those to get lost and make their way to me" Spike hinted not subtly at all.

 _[Laughing at Spike's suggestion Angus said "Well I'll see if I can get the guys to bring me the supplies to make a few more for you and send them your way."]_

Spike recalled their conversation on the way to get Daphne and dawning hit and surprise laced his words "Man, you're the bright inventor? You invented them? These are your babies? Sweet."

 _[Angus replied modestly "Yeah, well I was getting a little slow in my old age and needed more time to run away when all else failed, so. You know the saying 'necessity is the mother of invention'."]_

Spike smiled "Damn you're good, hope you patented it. You could make a fortune selling those to bomb squads worldwide. Hey I'm calling because I need help. Beauty died. Need to resurrect her."

He went on to explain all he had tried so far. They discussed options. For the next few hours they worked together brainstorming ideas and testing things out.

Spike finished the final solder point on their last attempt. "Okay, done. If this doesn't work I'm going to have to find a replacement and transfer the music. But I really don't want to do that. Fingers crossed."

 _[Angus grabbed his water and took a drink. The past two hours had been therapeutic for him. He had not seen a future outside JTF2. As he helped Spike with beauty he realized he had a lot of skills he could employ outside of the military._

 _The beginnings of an idea formed in his head. He could start his own tech business. Spike was right about the bomb tech. He could sell it, he could train others; his options were wide open._

 _"So did it …" he was cut off by loud excited whooping. Yep it worked, Angus smiled and he waited for Spike to calm down.]_

Spike couldn't contain himself. Loud excited shouts of triumph exploded from his mouth as he jumped around. They had done it. "Beauty is alive, she's alive. We did it. Thank you so much Angus. You have no idea how much this means to me. To Sam. Thanks man. If you need anything, I mean anything just call me. Day or night. Anytime."

 _[Angus heard Spike rambling and cut in "Spike, whoa settle down a bit. I'm glad I could help but it was mostly you. I just listened."_

 _He yawned deeply and for the first time in days he thought he could actually sleep. Helping Spike had released all the pent-up tension about his future that had kept him from sleeping.]_

Spike heard the yawn and looked at the clock, damn near five am. "Thanks again Angus. Sounds like you are pretty tired. I'm gonna go now and let you sleep. But I mean it, you need anything, anytime, you call."

Angus acknowledged he would and elicited the same from Spike before they both hung up.

Looking at the battered case and ratty ear buds Spike sighed. He really wished Sam didn't need Beauty ever again that it could just lie quietly unused in a draw for the remainder of Sam's life.

He corrected himself, Sam's 'long' life. Looking at the clock he knew he should get some sleep. But instead he went to the kitchen.

Spike grabbed a glass and opened the fridge. He moved aside his mom's large green and orange bag to reach for the milk carton. As he poured the milk he smiled.

His ma was the best. She made a special treat for him to take in for the team tomorrow, well technically today he thought. The night shift didn't offer many good places for dinner. She had made the entire team a pan of her special lasagna. Before he left for work there would be fresh baked bread too.

He sat at the table drinking the milk and thought. What would be the best way to get Beauty to Sam? He couldn't afford for it to get lost in the mail. He decided to text the General and let him decide how to get it to him. He pulled out his phone and sent 'Need to get Beauty to Sam. Charged and ready. What's the best way?'

Spike washed and put away the glass. He picked up his phone to head back into his room to get some sleep when he saw the General had already responded.

Wow that was fast, he didn't expect a response for hours. It read 'Advise where courier can pick up at noon today'. He texted back 'SRU HQ'. The instant reply was 'Roger, thanks.'

Relieved that Sam would have Beauty soon he crawled into bed. Spike fell into a fitful but not unpleasant sleep. Images of good times with Lou and Sam filled his dreams.

* * *

 ** _Wordy's Home – 3:00 am_**

Wordy was still shuffling around the house quietly unable to sleep. He had made it home a half hour ago after staying a bit with Jules. She was doing much better by the time he left. As he wandered aimlessly around his house he had checked in on his wife and daughters several times.

Contentment flowed through him as he gazed on their sweet sleeping faces from their doorways. He was glad Allie was sleeping through the night again. She had lots of nightmares in the past months since they lost Lou and then with Sam being gone. His sleep had been not so good either. He wondered if his sensitive, empathetic daughter was picking up on his unsettled mood.

He tried real hard not to let it show at home. But Shel knew, she always knew. All the cuts on his arm a few weeks ago had been a clear indicator to her he had finally lost it.

She had held him close and tight at first but then pulled away and lightly laughed. Shel made him laugh out loud when she asked why he couldn't just lose it at home and punch a few walls here. That way she could get him to repaint the bathroom and their bedroom.

Flicking on the light in the kitchen, Wordy's eyes landed on the spot that Sam had punched a hole in. Sam and Jules did a great job patching it. No one would ever know a hole had been there unless they had watched as Sam slammed his fist through the wall.

Shel absolutely loved the soft yellow walls in the kitchen. When she went with Sam to select the paint color she told Sam it would make the kitchen feel warm, safe, inviting and happy.

Wordy opened the fridge and stared. Not really knowing what if anything he wanted. His eyes landed on green jello; they must have had that for desert tonight. Sam liked green jello. He grabbed the half empty bowl and a spoon from the drawer and sat at the kitchen table.

Staring at the soft yellow walls he absently spooned in one mouthful after another. He wished Sam was here. The injuries Dale described sounded terrible. How alone and scared Sam must feel right now. Wordy got lost in memories of Sam and the team.

The spoon entered his mouth and he realized there was nothing on it. He looked at the bowl and smirked. He'd polished off the entire contents without noticing. He looked up when he heard Shel enter the room. What was she doing up so early?

He hoped he hadn't woken her up "Shel, sorry I was trying to be quiet. I didn't mean to wake you so early."

Shel saw the tiredness on her husband's face. He hadn't been to bed yet. She yawned, stretched and said "Kev it's not so early, you didn't wake me. The alarm did; need to fix breakfast for the girls soon. Just need to get some coffee started first."

"Shel, it's only three am. Go back to bed" Wordy said watching his lovely wife start to fill the coffee pot with water.

"Kevin, its five thirty in the morning" she said pointing to the clock.

At his look of confusion she walked over and hugged him. Something was truly bothering him if he lost two and a half hours. She knew he had to be back at work by noon so said "Kev, you really need to get some sleep. Why don't you go to bed? I'll wake you around ten or so."

He continued to sit so she tugged him up and led him to the room and gently pushed him towards the bed "Sleep. Now. If you need, we can talk before you go into work. The girls will be at school so we can talk privately." She hugged him once more then left the room closing the door.

Wordy plopped down onto the bed not bothering to even kick off his shoes. He was so worn out he was asleep in seconds.

He woke startled in the sunshine filled room. He turned his head to the side to look at the time, seven am. He then saw the reason for his waking. Three delightful little girls all smiles and fresh for their day staring at him.

Shel came in "Girls I said let your daddy sleep."

Wordy sat up. "No Shel it's alright. Come here and give me a hug. I've missed you all" Wordy said opening his arms wide.

Three little girls rushed forward. Hugs given all-round the girls scooted off the bed.

"Have a great day girls. I'll try to call before bedtime tonight" he called out as they headed out of the room.

He lay back down. Allie rushed back in. "Daddy I forgot, I drew this for Uncle Sam. Can you send it to him?" She handed him a folded piece of paper.

Wordy smiled "Sure sweetie. He'll love it when he gets it."

As she ran from the room to catch up with the others to leave for school Wordy opened the paper. He had no idea how to get it to Sam but his smile broadened as he looked at it. She was quite the little artist.

She had drawn a knight with yellow hair and blue eyes on a black horse slaying a huge dragon breathing fire. Below the picture was a caption in child scrawled print that was a bit difficult to make out with the misspelling but he knew it read 'Prince Charming keeps us safe'.

His eyes slipped closed thinking how right Allie was.

* * *

 ** _Greg's Home – 4:00 am_**

He couldn't fall asleep. He had lain there for two hours staring up at his ceiling and as was still awake. Greg rolled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen in the dark.

Maybe a small snack would help him sleep. Taking the pan out from the cabinet he hit his hand on the edge and the pan clattered to the ground making lots of racket. He shook out the mild pain in his hand and picked up the pan. An old memory flashed in his head of Sam dropping a pan while making them breakfast. Christ those jalapenos were hot.

He placed the pan on the stove and changed his mind as to what he was going to make. He had intended to make a grilled cheese sandwich. He went to the fridge and pulled out eggs, cheese, ham and onions. Simple. An omelet sounded like the right thing to have right now. He tossed the bread in the toaster; toast with jam was in order to as the full memory of that morning rode through his mind.

When he was done making it he sat alone at the table. His mind settled on the memories of the time Sam stayed with him. Regardless of the circumstances that had caused Sam to stay with him, it had been nice having someone to share breakfast with. He looked around his lonely kitchen and sighed. Greg took a bite of his omelet, not bad, but not as good as Sam could make.

Greg was constantly surprised by his rookie. It was funny how after so much time he still thought of Sam as the rookie even though he was fully competent and no longer the rookie of the team. Hell he was more competent than many officers in SRU who had been here years longer.

But Sam still surprised him with his hidden abilities. The way he led the unit and team several weeks ago showed even another side to him. He really was TL and Sergeant material. He hoped Sam would come back to the SRU when his commitment to the Army was over. They needed men like him.

That thought brought home the fact that injuries described tonight might just end both careers. Greg kept his mind on the positive. Sam would pull through. He had been through worse.

Greg was thoroughly impressed at his ability to bounce back from adversity and the way he met challenges head on. Spike's name truly fit the young man 'Samtastic'. But the team was devastated to hear of his injuries tonight. He needed to keep watch on their mental states.

Spike had talked nonstop on the way to the barn. He did that when he was upset. On the way to his house he had become so quiet and a determined look set in his face when he realized Beauty was not holding a charge. He had muttered he had only charged it this morning so it shouldn't be dead.

Greg had barely stopped the car when Spike jumped out and said a fast bye as he raced into his house. He worried most about Spike. If Sam did not make it back he wondered how long it would be before Spike left SRU. He was constantly being recruited by CSIS and high tech firms, they all wanted him.

Thank god for Wordy. He knew that Jules would be safe in his hands. He would get her home and do what was necessary to calm and reassure her. She was trying valiantly to hold it together. He could see her distraction all night. Greg wished some rules did not exist. Those two, Sam and Jules made a great team. Their connection to each other strengthened the partnership rather than detracted from it. They were so in tune with each other it was scary sometimes.

He and Eddie had been surprised that they had chosen the team over a relationship. Even though they had joked with each other in the locker room that they didn't really see Sam and Jules as a couple. It was hard to watch and see Jules so hurt by all of this; he wanted the woman he viewed as a daughter to be happy.

But Jules needed to have her head on straight be focused by tomorrow or he would bench her. He would talk to her while the rest of the team worked out to make sure. Not being focused could get her hurt or killed and Sam was counting on the team to protect her.

Sam thought he hid his over-protectiveness of Jules, but every single one of the guys on the team saw it clearly. They all privately laughed when Jules laid into him when he over-stepped. Sam was usually quick to apologize even if the action had been the right action to take. But there were a few times he held his ground and Greg thought the roof would blow off the building at the heated argument between them.

As he finished his omelet his mind drifted back to Wordy. He had surprised them all when he punched the glass wall. Wordy was always the calmest of them all. But he was having a tough time dealing with this too. Part of him was glad Wordy had done it. He was glad he wasn't hurt badly but it was the shock, the catalyst for them all to realize how badly they messed up again.

Greg was pleased that Leo had forgiven them and seemed to really enjoy his last two weeks with the team. He was proud of the way the team was welcoming Mike too. They all still wanted Sam back but were more accepting of the reality that he wouldn't be back for years and it was time to move forward and integrate someone new to the team.

As he washed up the dishes he thought about Ed. He could always count on Eddie. One word before he left with Spike and he knew what was needed. He was sure Ed had explained enough to Mike so he understood why they all left so abruptly after Dale's news.

Of all the team Ed seemed outwardly to be handling this best. He chalked that up to his TL responsibilities and his normal disposition. But underneath he knew Ed was raging. He knew Ed felt guilt; tons of guilt for what happened that hot summer day. And today's news probably just added to that guilt.

Ed blamed himself for the explosion. Ed told him it was his fault the timer dropped when he yanked Spike up. He felt useless as Sam struggled for his life with Qasim and kicked himself for not checking him out fully after the fight. It bothered him a great deal that Sam cleared the whole basement bleeding out.

He also blamed himself for yelling for the man to freeze instead of shooting him outright which allowed him to throw the grenade that Sam jumped on to save Ben. Ed carried a lot of guilt. Nothing Greg had said over the past weeks had made a dent in how Ed felt. Ed still needed to process those emotions. Greg knew he needed to watch Ed closely to ensure he was coping well enough to do the job.

Greg walked to his room and set his alarm. It was now six am. Four hours of sleep is all he would get before shift. He needed to be in earlier to finish the paperwork on Mike before shift started. Today was going to require tons of coffee. As he settled his head on his pillow he thought he might just have to try the iced capp Sam always liked so much.

* * *

 ** _Jules's Home – 5:00 am_**

She unlocked the door and entered her house. The run had helped clear her mind. She had driven to the park she and Sam liked to run and bike in an hour and a half after Wordy had left. Wordy had stayed with her as she had cried on his shoulder. His reassuring words that Sam was strong and had overcome worse injuries had bolstered her and helped her regain some control.

When he left around two am she had rummaged around her house looking for small things. If Sam had lost his memory he might need things to help trigger them. She had gathered several pictures of the team and their families from past picnics and other events.

But then she remembered he had lost his sight. She needed to find tactile items; things to engage his other senses. Something he could smell, feel, taste or hear. It took her a while to think of things she could send; whatever it was needed to be small, it had to travel very far.

Taste was the first item to come to her mind. She went to the kitchen and quickly whipped up a batch of his favorite cookies. She remembered the WOW smile he had given her the last time she had presented him a bag of cookies just before shift started one day. She laughed out loud remembering how Spike had begged and begged him to share. Sam finally relented and shared half of one.

When she had presented Spike with his own bag of cookies Spike had run away when Sam demanded his half cookie back. Sam took Spike down with a flying tackle in the hallway of HQ. Ed, Sarge, Wordy and she couldn't stop laughing as Sam and Spike wrestled on the ground. Sam finally succeeded in getting his half cookie back from Spike and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. Those two were such little boys sometimes. Surely the cookies would spark something.

As she was putting the cookies in the oven she realized it might also do for the sense of smell too. But then she had another idea. She ran to her bathroom and poured a small amount of her perfume on an index card. Jules quadrupled sealed it in plastic bags so the smell didn't invade the other items.

When they were dating Sam would nuzzle close when she wore that fragrance. He told her it was his favorite by far and that she smelled like heaven. She hadn't worn it since they broke up. She dabbed a small amount on her wrist now then went back down stairs.

She sat at the kitchen counter waiting for the cookies to finish baking. Her eyes landed on the top picture; one of the two of them standing next to their mountain bikes at the top of his favorite trail. That was a fun day she recalled. She grabbed her keychain and took his extra bike key off. She taped it to the back of the picture and added a post-it note explaining what it was. Whoever was with him could tell him what it was as he held the key and they describe the picture to him.

The timer went off and she pulled the cookies out to cool. Another thought came to her. She went to her bookshelf and pulled down the little box labeled Wanderlust Lodge. Somehow she became the keeper of the fears box they had made one night after Sam conquered his fear of the water.

Opening it she fingered each small item that represented the team's fears. None were bigger than a thumb. There was a plane, a cat, a clown, a spider, a snake, a shovel and a boat. She held the snake for a long time. Images of Lou drifted in. A few tears slipped out. She missed Lou so much still. She put all of them into a small zipper bag and wrote a small note to include with them.

It read: _'Sarge will never fly, says metal tubes thousands of feet in the air are unnatural. Clowns still scare Wordy, too bad Holly wants to decorate her room with clowns. Spike's dime sized spider is now the size of a puppy when he retells the story. Ed and cats still hate each other, saw him actually hiss at one in an alley on a call last week. Remember Lou was frightened of snakes. I still can't stand the thought of being buried alive, hence the shovel. The boat represented your fear of water. You are the only one of us to conquer your fear completely. You can conquer this too. Love, Jules and all the guys.'_

She grabbed a cookie and munched on it. The last sense would be hearing. She opened her laptop and pulled up the video of the last picnic. She watched the ten minute montage Spike had made from all the snippets of videos everyone took that day. It had small clips of everyone talking. This would work nicely she thought. Jules copied it and several more still pictures to a memory stick.

Cookies cooled enough she packaged up all but five. She would take a small treat for the guys. Then she gathered it all together into a large envelope. She felt more settled. It felt like she was helping in some small way even though she couldn't be with him. But her mind was still racing with emotions and was unable to go to sleep.

That's when she decided to go for the run. Sam always said a run cleared his head. As she ran for an hour she had fumed angrily, laughed and cried as she recalled memories of Sam.

Running had definitely helped but Jules was exhausted now. She locked the door behind her and headed up the stairs. As she was getting ready to shower she realized she needed to figure out how to get the envelope of items to Sam. She texted the General, only he would know how.

In the extra-long shower she let the hot water wash away her negative thoughts. It was important to stay positive. She towel dried her hair then combed through it and put it into a ponytail. As Jules pulled on shorts and a tank top to sleep she saw the perfume on the counter. Picking up the little bottle she dabbed a bit on her wrists again.

The clock read 5:56 am; she set the alarm for 11 am. Shift would be rough tonight with so little sleep. She thought she could just make it in on time with a Timmy's run if she set the alarm for ten-thirty instead. She changed the alarm, coffee was going to be a must have not a nice to have today.

Jules checked her phone as she sat on the edge of the bed. One new text message it indicated; she was surprised to get a response so quickly. Jules pulled it up and noted the General said a courier would pick it up at SRU HQ at noon today. Nice.

She smiled, curled up on the side of the bed Sam had normally slept on and pulled the covers over her head blocking out the first rays of sunshine of the day. As she drifted to sleep the scent of Sam's favorite perfume wafted around her and she thought of the last time they kissed.

* * *

 ** _Sam's Apartment – 3:00 am_**

After hanging up with Blaze, Ed had sat in the Goose parking lot not sure where to go. He was in no condition to go home to Sophie and Clark. He was too angry. He had watched as Mike and Dale headed out about 2:15 am. He had decided where to go. It was unorthodox and he could get in trouble but it felt right and necessary for some reason.

At three am he was still sitting in the apartment complex parking lot. He was debating whether or not to go in. Finally he opened his car door, locked it and headed into the lobby. Being so early in the morning he met no one. It was a fast ride to the tenth floor.

Ed found himself outside of 1008 staring at the lock. This was a complete invasion of privacy. He shouldn't be here. He picked the lock anyway. Entering the apartment he closed the door behind him and switched on the light. Military neat and sparse. Except for two plates, one with a moldy partially eaten sandwich on it and two soda cans sitting on the family room table.

He walked to the desk. Six pictures as always. Ed looked at the one of Sam and Matt. He picked it up and noticed that Ben truly was a carbon copy of his dad. They had the same soft green eyes. He set it down in the exact place. He looked at the other pictures. His eyes landed on the team. That had been a good picnic. He, Sam and Jules had beaten the pants off Spike, Lou and Wordy in volleyball that day. He gut churned, two, two are gone.

Looking closely at Lou grief and anger swelled. Dammit there was absolutely nothing he could do to save Lou that day. He was still riddled with guilt even though he knew it wasn't his fault. Ed blew out a ragged breath. He was responsible for the men and women under his command. He had failed them in so many ways lately.

Ed shifted his gaze to the one of Sam diving into the lake. Giving Sam the picture had been Clark's idea. He picked it up and saw the note was still stuck to the back. Since then Sophie had invited Sam over a lot for dinner. He didn't always accept but often enough. He, Sam and Clark would invariably end up playing hockey, basketball or just throwing the ball around when he did join them for dinner. The past weeks with Sam gone had been tough on Clark and Sophie too.

He set the picture down and grabbed the plates and empty cans. He dumped the moldy sandwich and cans into the trash can then washed the plates and put them away. The moldy sandwich made him think about how long Sam had been away from his apartment. He opened the fridge.

The stench blew him away. Christ. There wasn't much but the few perishable items had completely rotted. He grabbed the trash can and emptied the fridge of the dead items then tied off the bag sealing in the foul odor. He grabbed vinegar and baking soda and completely deodorized the inside of Sam's fridge. The team should have remembered to do this a long time ago. Sam didn't need to come home to something like this. He was glad he had come now.

By the time he had finally gotten the smell out of the fridge it was near five. He went to check the bedroom to make sure there was nothing rotten in there. Unlikely but he should check. The first thing he saw was Sam's SRU boots set neatly by the foot of his bed. He peeked into the bathroom, nothing to deal with there. On his way out of the room his gaze landed on a piece of paper on the dresser.

Switching on the light to see what it was he picked it up. He got choked up when he saw it was a child's drawing of a duck. There were several brown finger prints around the edges. Dried blood, Blaze's blood from Sam's hands he realized. Sam found this at the safe house. The fire that had been just below the surface for weeks flared as hot as blue flame.

Ed set the picture down and switched off the light. He grabbed the foul smelling trash bag, switch off the lights and exited Sam's apartment making sure it was locked. He threw the bag down the garbage chute.

He headed for the stairs. There was too much fury in him to demurely ride an elevator. He stormed down ten flights of stairs and out the door to his car. He needed to release his rage.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Gym – 5:30 am_**

Ed thundered into the barn and ignored Peter at the dispatcher's desk. He went directly to the lockers and changed into workout gear. He quickly wrapped his hands and headed for the heavy bag. All his failures in the past few months came pouring out his fists as he belted the bag with all his might.

Sweat ran down his face and drenched his shirt. He kept going. Hit after hit trying to assuage his guilt. All the could've, would've, should've thoughts his rational mind would have recognize as illogical were allowed as evidence to convict him of his failures. Every fist slammed into the bag corresponded to a mental blow as he beat himself up mentally for his failures that resulted in losing two team members.

Then the illogical part of his mind turned the vehemence onto Sam. Just what the hell did Sam think he was doing reactivating? Another JTF2 team could have saved Ben. The cocky little shit took too many unacceptable risks. He nearly got himself choked to death, stabbed to death, bled to death, blown to bits on a grenade and blown up by a bomb. And just what the hell unacceptable risks did he take to get himself in his current condition.

His mind flipped again and fury turned back to himself with a vengeance. HE FAILED SAM. He nearly let Sam get choked to death. He did not check Sam out properly afterward. He knew Sam always downplayed injuries, he should have checked. His fault Sam lost so much blood.

Completely his fault for the grenade, Sam protected the boy. Sam would not have had to jump on it if he had behaved as a soldier and shot the terrorist instead of trying to arrest him. Sam had known what frame of mind it would take in that building. Shoot first or die or get someone else on the team killed.

Then the bomb; wholly his fault. He had been so worried about losing anyone to a bomb again he failed to let Spike do his job. He caused the timer to drop by jerking Spike up. If it hadn't been for Mason's ability to carry Sam by himself and run at the same time, they would have still been in the basement and dead. Dead. He failed his whole team.

Failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch, failure, punch.

On and on it went.

Team Three was just getting back from a call that had them out for the last three hours. Peter called out to the Sergeant "Sergeant Cray, I think someone needs to check on Ed."

Rollie and Team Three stopped at the dispatch desk "Pete, what's up? Ed you say?"

Peter nodded his head towards the gym "He came in about 5:30. Changed and headed to the gym. He's been at the heavy bag ever since."

Checking his watch Rollie noticed it was almost 7 am. Christ an hour and a half at the bag. "Thanks Pete. I've got it. Guys, head into the briefing room. We'll debrief shortly." They nodded and headed to the briefing room while Rollie headed for the gym.

He stood watching Ed a moment. He was drenched in sweat. His punches were still fairly strong for going at it so long. But his saw the fatigue. He reached into the mini-fridge and grabbed two waters. Then strode over to the bag "Ed." No response "Hey Ed." Still no response. Loudly he said "Ed stop."

Ed registered Rollie near the bag. He stopped. "What?" he spit out angrily.

"Whoa don't bite my head off buddy. Just thought you could use a break. A drink of water maybe?" He held out a water bottle.

Ed took the water. Rollie sat on one of the benches "Wanna talk about what's bugging you?"

Downing nearly half the bottle of water first Ed responded still angry but slightly less heated "What makes you think something's bothering me?"

"Oh it could be that you just bit my head off. Maybe because from what Pete says you've beat the crap out of that bag for well over an hour if not closer to two. Or possibly that it is seven am, you haven't slept and you are due in here five hours from now for shift. Take your pick" Rollie said causally.

Ed glared at him and downed the second half of the water. Rollie opened the second bottle and passed it to him "Wanna talk to me or do I talk to Parker and get you removed from shift today? Clearly your head's not where it needs to be right now."

Feeling the exhaustion now that he had stopped, Ed sat on another bench. He had no desire to share his thoughts but he knew Rollie, they had worked together for several years on Team One before Rollie was fast tracked to Sergeant. If he didn't say something he would talk to Greg. Greg would remove him from shift today.

He decided on a safe but relatively truthful route "Just a lot of stress with all the changes with the team lately. Losing two great guys from the team so close together. Dealing with three new rookies in the span of a few months. Just needed to release the stress."

Rollie smirked "Yeah well I think you probably did that in spades this morning. Feel any better?"

Ed actually did feel better. Exhausted but better. Rational thinking had returned. Yes he screwed up, he was human. He didn't like that he had. But he could accept it and move forward. With Lou he knew there was nothing different he would have done that day. There was no way to predict a landmine being there. There was nothing he could do to save him that day.

With Sam in the tunnel, nothing he could do different there either, except Sam was being thoroughly checked out in the future regardless of what he said. Samo lied to him; they would have to talk about that. The grenade, it was his training that took over to yell freeze and there was no way to predict a grenade. Again he would not do anything different. Taking the terrorist alive might have yielded helpful information.

The bomb and Spike; yes he was wrong, very wrong to yank Spike. But Spike should have obeyed orders and left when he told him to. He may have been able to defuse the bomb, but they did not know if there were others. If it had been like the CN tower they all would have been dead.

Spike had taken an unacceptable risk. Damn Sam was rubbing off on Spike too much. Those two were something else. He remembered how Sam made a fool of himself that morning to bring Spike out of his moodiness. Maybe a bit of Spike was rubbing off on Sam too. The thoughts made Ed smile slightly.

Ed nodded to Rollie "Actually I do feel better. Just needed to work some things out. It helped." Ed rose and the full effect of his hours long eruption made itself known. He sat back down.

"Man, don't think you're in shape to drive home. Wanna ride?" Rollie said.

Shaking his head no Ed rose again "Nah, don't think I'll head home. Let Pete know that conference room 3 is occupied. Just gonna grab a few hours in there."

Rollie stood up "Sounds good. Need anything just ask." Rollie headed to the briefing room satisfied that whatever had driven Ed's behavior had been resolved in his head. He had watched as the anger ebbed away and calm had settled into his features.

Ed quickly texted Sophie to tell her where he was at and to say he'd call later. He set his alarm for 11:15 am. Then he stretched out on the floor with his arms behind his head. He could get about four hours sleep. Wouldn't be fun but with enough coffee he would be able to operate, he'd done it on less sleep before.

His last thought before nodding off made him smile. Sam would get a laugh out of him sleeping in conference room 3. It was the first place he had ever found Sam napping on his break; the first spot to make it onto the unacceptable nap location list.


	26. Covert Move, Coffee & Pissed Off General

**Covert Move, Coffee & Pissed Off General**

* * *

 ** _Twelve Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room 1100 (11 am)_**

Winds hung up the phone "That was the General. We need to prepare to leave Mason."

Smiling broadly and his voice happy Mason replied "Hot damn. Man he must have a sixth sense about his boy. No sooner do we hear he is ready to travel and the General calls. I know he's a busy man but that was one short call. Is he coming here or are we just bringing the kid home to Ottawa?"

Winds was about to reply when his phone buzzed. He read the text 'coffee'. Strange go code he thought briefly.

Mason noticed that Winds was not smiling which wiped his off his face.

Winds looked up from his phone "Somehow we have been compromised. No details but we are authorized to do whatever necessary to keep Blondie safe." Winds unholstered his gun and double checked the clip.

Mason followed suit and said seriously and all business "Travel plans?"

"We need to get all of Blondie's medical records and take them with us. You and I are traveling with him, at least on this leg of the journey. Zach's not coming with us. Our go code is coffee and we leave within four hours. We need the doctor now to discuss how to manage the light sensitivity. Assuming Galloway will be making the arrangements. With security being compromised it will be interesting to see what cover he creates for us to get out of here covertly" Winds responded.

"Zach's gonna be pissed" Mason replied.

As if on cue there was a knock on the door and Zach called out "Just me, okay to open?"

Winds looked at Blondie. He never quite knew if Blondie was completely out or just in stealth mode. Patch always knew but he could never quite read him on that. He put the cloth over his head just in case then called for Zach to enter.

"Sorry guys that took longer than expected. Had to ask someone to find more of his favorite bars. Got him a whole box of them though. Found a new pair of sweats and an awesome shirt too. Button down instead of pullover it will be easier on his ribs getting it on and off." Zach was chattering away when he recognized Mason and Winds were busy in the corner of the room with their packs and not even really listening to him. "What's up guys?"

Winds turned to him "Need your help. Locate the doctor and have him provide you a copy of Blondie's full records of injuries. Have him make up a week's worth of pain meds in injectable syringes. Then bring him here. We need to discuss how to manage the light sensitivity for travel."

Zach nodded he could do that "Is Sam being moved right now? Did you call the General?"

This all seemed so sudden. Zach was put off a bit by their mannerisms. His Uncle would want Sam to travel but why the complete rush. Unless? "Something happened. Is there a threat to Sam?"

Mason briefly thought the kid's sharp then said "Nothing specific, no details other than we need to leave within four hours."

"Okay I'll get the records and meds and bring the doc. Then I'll go grab my things too" Zach replied.

Winds stopped his packing, stood and turned to him "You're not going with us kid."

Zach was about to ask why but decided to quit being stupid and use his brain. He stopped and thought things through a moment. Several things came to mind.

His leave was almost up, there was an unspecified threat but his uncle was not taking chances evidenced by moving so quickly and they were SF. That meant they were not taking Sam to the base hospital. They were taking him to a safe house to recover. Good he thought Sam hates hospitals anyhow. Given the breach in security his uncle would use a form of blackout protocol even though the priority one was no longer in place.

Winds and Mason watched as the wheels turned in Zach's head and saw when it clicked.

"Shit I'm gonna be on the 'no change' list now. That's gonna suck. Just let Sam know I care and it was not by choice I'm not with him. What else can I do to help?" Zach asked

"Nothing at the moment" Mason answered.

Zach nodded turned and left the room to quickly to do what they asked him to do.

* * *

 ** _Gulfstream Private Jet Inflight to Ottawa_** ** _–_** ** _1530 (3:30 pm)_**

Fifteen minutes after take-off Corporal Drake walked towards the front of the plane. He stopped in the small galley to grab a soda on his way back to his seat near the front. "Winds, Mason, Mike want anything while I'm here?" He grabbed each a soda per their requests and moved forward.

Handing the drinks to them then he sat in the spacious, comfortable, soft leather seat. "Now this is the way to travel" he sighed and kicked up the leg rest.

Popping the top on the can Mason said "Sure beats the hard metal seats of the normal transport flights. How'd the General swing this one?"

Pushing the chair into a reclining position Drake replied "Not the General. Mike was in charge of arranging transportation for this mission." He twisted in the chair and called out behind him "Hey Boss. How the hell you swing this one?"

From the pilot's seat Lieutenant Galloway chuckled and called back "Not telling you all my secrets kid. If I did then you'd have my job in a heartbeat. And to tell truth, I really like my job."

Mike would never tell them it was one of his family's private jets.

As far as anyone knew Mike was just a normal guy from an average family; not the heir apparent of one of the richest families in Canada. The General knew but he kept quiet. He completely understood Mike's reasons for wanting to be known for who he was rather than who his family was.

But at times Mike saw the need to tap his family's resources. This was one of those times. Sam needed a safe, fast, non-military exit from Afghanistan.

Drake chuckled "If you're not careful I'm gonna start calling you Magic Mike. You might have to finally share a trick or two with me to get me to stop."

Mike bristled at the name but snorted and dryly said "You start calling me that kid and you'll find yourself buck naked in some dark alley in some god forsaken country with a name you cannot even pronounce praying for someone to come rescue you."

That shut Drake up fast. He gave Winds and Mason a wide-eyed look that clearly said 'Mike could do that'. Drake responded quickly "K, boss hear ya loud and clear."

They all smiled as they heard Mike burst out laughing.

Downing the last of the soda Winds was looking at his god awful suit that was too loose in places and too snug in others. Christ he thought the pants would fall down they were so loose. With no belt included he had strung one of his combat boot laces between two belt loops to tighten them when he changed at the hospital.

"So if Mike was transport, then it's you we have to thank for our wonderful wardrobe?" he said sarcastically looking at Drake.

"Man don't even begin to complain Winds. I feel like I'm in a freaking straight jacket. Scared it would burst at the seams and leave me naked as a jaybird in the airport. Good thing I was carrying Blondie. He covered where the three buttons had popped off and the shirt gaped open" Mason said.

Now that they were safely in the air he started pulling to remove the tie and unbuttoning the remaining buttons on the shirt that were also threatening to pop off. He also kicked off the too small dress shoes he had crammed his feet into.

Drake was laughing uncontrollably "Sorry dudes. Not much choice over here on such short notice and especially not in your size of suit Mason. At least be happy you're not wearing a burka. Seriously thought I might have to go that route for you dude."

He blocked the shoe that Mason threw at him.

Still snickering he continued "But I knew had to find something that would somewhat fit. You both needed to fit the part of beleaguered security personnel for our young boss." He waved his hand towards the back of the plane.

Then Drake continued "You know our obnoxious, filthy rich, drunk off his ass playboy who is out gallivanting the world in daddy's plane. It let us get our 'passed out' playboy there onboard with little inspection or notice from airport security. All they saw was just another privileged good for nothing playboy paving his way with daddy's money."

Winds sobered a bit as he too yanked off the tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt "Yeah at first I wasn't sure that was gonna work. How the hell did you guys come up with that cover? Worked great but was a bit tense with that one guard until you slipped him that wad of money. I'll tell you, I sighed with relief when he quickly allowed us to pass. Would have been awful to shoot our way to the plane."

Smiling still Drake answered "Cover was Mike's idea. He said long ago he once knew a guy like that. Said it always worked for the guy and money usually got him everything he wanted." He shook his head "Money's nice and can be useful, but it cannot buy happiness. Leastwise that's what Magic Mike keeps telling me."

"Drake, you're tempting fate. Better not let me hear you call me that again" Mike admonished slightly irritated.

He really hated that name. When he was young, brash and a stupid playboy all the sycophants he thought were real friends called him that. It took one incident when he was twenty-one to give him a much needed wakeup call and he changed his life completely. He wanted to forget the wasted early years of his adult life. Well actually he didn't recall too much because he was usually too wasted then to remember all the crap he did.

Shaking himself out of the past Mike's voice switched to real concern "So Drake, how's our playboy doing?"

Stretching out languidly Drake answered "He's still out cold. Not gonna give him another dose just yet. The doctor's dose should be wearing off soon. Need him to wake up to see how's he's feeling. Nice the doctor arranged that portable infusion pump for him. Hate sticking him with needles. I had to change his IV when he was awake at the safe house before. Sam went all rigid when he caught sight of the needle. He was so stiff and tight I thought the needle would bend when I inserted it. He must have a real fear of needles."

Mason cringed, if Drake only knew why but it wasn't his place to share that information with him. He was so glad that Blondie was out cold when he started the IV in the desert.

Stripping off the pants Mason noticed the seam of the butt had actually torn and was close to ripping wide open upon the entire length. That would have been embarrassing. He dug in his bag for his own clothes, filthy and rumpled but at least they fit properly. As he changed he asked "What's our flight time in this tin can?"

Mike guffawed at the tin can description of one of the most elite private jets. Over his shoulder he said "This baby does a max of Mach 0.925. But with head winds, gonna be another eight or nine hours in the air to Ottawa where we stop refuel and to pick up the General. Then it will be another four to five hours to Yellow Knife depending on conditions."

Winds was pulling on his own pants now, like Mason he would rather be in his own clothes even though they really needed to be washed "Mike not sure how you did it but thanks. Nice to see that Blondie has a comfortable place to rest during the flight. I thought he'd have to put up with a small little chair or maybe the hard floor for hours."

Mike just smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Winds was totally impressed that Mike found a plane with a bed. The General's personal security detail was good, damned good.

Finishing tying his boots Mason stood up and had to stoop over not to hit his head on the roof of the cabin. Seeing Winds was re-lacing his boot he said "Hey Drake, wanna give me a hand with Blondie. Probably better to get him changed into something comfortable too before he wakes."

Mason and Drake went to the back and stripped him out of the tight suit and put him into a new pair of soft black sweat pants and light cotton button down shirt that Zach had bought for him at the PX.

After Mason propped Blondie's ankle on several pillows he pulled the blanket over him and removed the sunglasses they had put on him to hide the gauze.

Drake carefully removed the tape holding the gauze in place that covered his eyes to protect them from light.

Mason handed Drake a black sleeping mask. "The doc said this should work fine. It's padded and the strap is adjustable to make it snug. Should block all the light and stay in place better than the cloth, it won't fall off if he moves in sleep."

Drake adjusted the mask then did another quick vitals check. All good. "Hey guys, pull all the window shades, let's make it dark as possible in here for when he wakes."

Winds and Mason proceeded to close all the shades. On the way back to their seats Mason was near the small galley and grabbed a bag of beef jerky. He tossed it to Winds.

Catching the bag and opening it Winds said "So this safe house in Yellow Knife, it's not a piece of crap like the one we had for Daphne is it?"

Returning to his seat and kicking back Drake responded "Nah, completely state of the art. Gots all we need to handle Sam and keep him safe. Craig and Jack are supplying it as we speak. Mike ordered them to make sure we had enough for eight weeks before we need to restock. Hope it doesn't take that long. But Sam seemed to like it there last time. He spent hours on the porch swing just letting the cool pine breeze blow around him."

* * *

 ** _Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room 1600 (4 pm)_**

Zach lay in the bed, the blackout cloth over his head letting just the top of his blonde head show. Gun held at his side just under the covers in case needed. All lights off and the room pitch dark. He had been here just like this for several hours now.

He was bored but knew what he was doing was important. Zach was the decoy to assist Sam's departure unnoticed. He thought back to when he had come back with the doctor as Winds' had requested.

Winds had told him they needed his help to get Sam safely out of the country. He said it could be very risky for him if someone decided to go after Sam and that he would have no backup. He had readily agreed without knowing what Winds wanted him to do.

Mason armed him with a small handgun and told him to tuck it away were he could reach it quickly if needed. Then they explained what they needed him to do. Be the decoy; make people think Sam was still here and help Mason and Winds get out of the room unnoticed.

His first task was to go out and distract the MP by giving him the guy's rifles and instructing the MP to have someone pick them up and return them to the armory. As he did this Mason and Winds slipped unobserved from the room. Then he accompanied Sam and the doctor down for a CT scan, leaving the MP unaware no one was in the room.

They had all met in the empty scan room. He was introduced to someone named Drake who was dressed in an awesome tailored black suit and tie. Zach helped to dress Sam in gray dress pants, black shirt with a silver tie and gray suit jacket. Getting the shiny black dress shoe on his right foot was a bit difficult due to the swelling but he eventually managed. He was glad Sam was out cold for all that.

As they dressed him the doctor cut several eye sized gauze pieces and taped several layers to Sam's eyes. Drake pulled out a pair of over-sized, mirrored, aviator sunglasses and put them on Sam. They completely covered the gauze. Next came a black wig with nearly shoulder length hair he put on Sam. The final touch was several splashes of beer on the jacket to give him the odor of alcohol, like he had too much to drink.

The doctor changed the IV location to higher on the arm and capped it off so it would be hidden by the sleeves. He put a small neutral colored bandaged over the old IV location in the hand. Drake pulled out something and pressed it on Sam's hand over the bandage. He saw Drake smear it a bit with his thumb. It was the entry a stamp from a local bar indicating he was of age to drink. The placement of the stamp disguised that an IV had been there.

Dr. Nettle reviewed all the scans with Drake and explained the status of the concussion. They discussed all of Sam's injuries. Nettle told them to tell the General to contact a Dr. Blue about Sam's eyes if they did not clear soon. Then he explained to them all how the small portable infusion pump worked for delivering pain meds as Zach had changed into Sam's clothes.

Then Winds and Mason changed into some totally ill-fitting black suits. It was hard not to laugh as Mason tried to cram his feet into the shoes. How he managed to walk in them Zach would never know. Mason had his revenge for Zach's laughter when a button popped off his shirt and it hit Zach in the forehead. Two more followed but he ducked quickly.

While they dressed Drake stowed all their remaining Army gear into black travel bags. Each donned shoulder holsters that hid their guns under their jackets. Drake handed Winds and Mason a passport and other fake ids. He handed another set to Winds for Sam. They would be leaving via the regular airport completely bypassing anything remotely military. The cover story had intrigued him and he wondered if it would really work. But Winds and Mason seemed okay with it so he relaxed.

Mason and Winds gently moved Sam into a wheelchair and propped him up. Zach had climbed onto the bed and the doctor covered him up so that a bit of the Army sweats and the top of his blonde hair showed. It was a good thing he and Sam were of the same build and height. When the others left the doctor had moved him to Sam's room. The doctor distracted the MP so he didn't pay close attention to the body in the bed.

Once in the room he had kept up a monolog of memories of benign and fake memories of Sam loud enough for the MP to think everyone was in the room. All he needed to do now was wait for the doctor to return to complete his final part of this deception.

Knocking was heard. He called out loudly "Just a second. Okay you can enter now." The doctor opened and closed the door quickly. The MP as usual glanced in the room then returned his bored gaze forward. Loud enough so the MP could overhear through the closed door he said "Hey doctor. Any news on the latest scans from today?"

Pulling up a chair the doctor modulated his voice at the same level. "I'm sorry to say the swelling has returned. Not sure what is going on. I need to run some more tests. It will still be several days before I can authorize travel. I know you were hoping he could go home with you. But it's just not safe yet."

Faking despondency Zach said "Crap. I can't get my leave extended I tried but my CO won't budge. In fact I have to leave shortly to actually make it back to base on time. Guys, you two are going to have to keep me apprised of his status." Both of them had made guttural sounds of acknowledgement that came close to Winds and Mason's voices. Luckily those guys had been mostly soft voiced the last few days and their voices had not carried to far.

Zach sat up and swung off the bed. He quickly changed into his clothes which had been stowed under the covers. He shoved Sam's clothes into his own bag. He walked to the door "Thanks doc. I know you'll take good care of him. Guys, I'll call after I arrive at base for status. Hopefully he'll be awake and I can talk to him."

The doctor said "Well if there are no more questions, I'll slip out with you now." Near the door too he said "Press the call button if he needs anything before I return in two days to recheck his status."

They both slipped out the door. Zach deliberately bumped into the MP knocking him away from the door so he could not see inside. "Sorry man. Didn't mean to run into you."

The MP mumbled no problem and tried to glimpse the room but the door had shut completely.

Zach shook the doctor's hand "Thanks again doc for everything. I know he's in good hands."

As he strode out of the hospital Zach thought that was actually interesting and kinda fun. He knew the seriousness of it but it was still fun.

He had always admired Sam so much for being in SF. He wondered if he had what it takes to do what they did. Those guys had some awesome skills.

Maybe he should talk to Uncle Will, see if he might be a candidate for Special Forces. They needed people with all kinds of skill sets. Maybe his pilot skills would be useful. He jogged towards the airbase switching mindsets to pilot mode; he needed to plan his flight back to base.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Dispatch Desk (11:55 am)_**

Jules was juggling her gym bag, the large envelope, a bag of cookies and two trays with seven coffees. She was running so late. The Timmy's by work was slammed. They had had five huge orders along with all the normal orders before she arrived and had placed hers and she had to wait for the coffee to finish brewing. The girl behind the counter looked frazzled and a little confused as she finished Jules' order.

She was wondering just how she would open the front door when Dale exited. "Hey Jules let me hold the door for you. I see you got the guys coffee this morning." He laughed hard as she walked passed him.

Slightly perturbed at the laughter and wondering what was so funny. She wondered if something was off with the way she was dressed. She was so late perhaps she missed something "What's that for Dale? Did I forget my pants or something?"

Shaking his head he could only get out "You'll see" between hearty laughs.

"Thanks Dale, I think?" Jules said just as the door closed.

Walking into the building she wondered what was up and was kicking herself for being late. Ed didn't like it when they were late and today of all days, Mike's first full day with the team. Not such a good example to set.

What punishment would he dream up for her today? Maybe he would give her a reprieve since she was bringing everyone coffee and cookies. It might get her off the hook. Especially since no one brought coffee since Sam had been gone. They had gotten out of the coffee rotation routine.

Jules rounded the corner at the dispatch desk and stopped dead. All five guys and Winnie turned and looked at her then burst out laughing. She joined them as she strode forward and placed the trays on the counter around the desk.

Her seven coffees joined thirty-five other coffees. Every single one of the team had done a Timmy's coffee run this morning and all had included Winnie when they ordered.

Ed smiled and raised an eyebrow as the laughing finally subsided "There will be absolutely no excuse for anyone napping today."

They all grabbed one of the coffees and general chatter ensued for a few minutes. Wordy piped up "So Mike, how's it you know what coffees to get?"

"Lucky guess?" Mike said.

"No really how?" Wordy asked.

Mike winked at Winnie "Yeah, well it pays to be resourceful. I bribed Winnie with buying her one today if she would tell me. But I see now that is normal protocol for a Timmy's run."

They all laughed again.

Jules held up the bag of cookies "Anyone interested?"

Ed snatched the bag. He counted five. He looked at Winnie "Spike you don't get one. Giving yours to Winnie."

Spike lifted his head and said "Fine, but you don't get any of Ma's lasagna or fresh out of the oven bread. Giving yours to Winnie." He held up the green and orange bag.

Winnie and Jules shared a look. Men, make that Boys. Stalemate. The whole team was silent watching the two stare each other down. Who would break first? It was Spike.

"How about we share. Half and half?" Spike suggested.

They agreed and Ed handed out the cookies. Jules felt a slight twinge of regret she should have included one for Winnie too.

Spike was about to take the dinner to the breakroom fridge when a courier arrived. Winnie set down her coffee and cookie and asked "May I help you?"

Both Spike and Jules said at the same time "He's here to get something for Sam?" They looked at each other perplexed. Then back at the courier.

The man looked at them and simply said "Was told there would be two packages for a Sam." Jules and Spike both pulled out their envelopes and handed them over.

Wordy piped up "Are those really going to Sam?"

The courier, Spike and Jules nodded yes.

Wordy reached into his front pocket. He had intended to tape it to Sam's locker for now. But this was much better. "I have something that needs to go too, Jules can I slip it into your envelope?"

Jules nodded took her large envelop back from the courier and opened it.

Ed and Greg knew what Spike was sending but not what Jules was sending.

Greg asked "We know Spike is sending beauty but what are you sending?"

Jules explained what she had included and why. Everyone was impressed.

Greg asked the courier "Can you hold a moment please?"

He nodded yes.

Then Greg asked "Guys anyone have any other ideas of small things we could send that might help?"

Ed, Wordy and Greg all raced off in different directions knowing exactly what they wanted to include. They converged back at the desk and Jules opened the envelope.

Ed contributed a bullet from the Remi Sam used as a sniper. Greg dropped in the King from the chess set. Wordy dropped in a small length of rappelling rope with a note that said 'hang on, don't let go, you are not alone, we are here always'.

Spike start to slip off his black and gold band.

Greg stayed his hand and said compassionately "No Spike not that."

Spike looked at him with a bit of sadness "But I can't think of anything else at the moment."

Ed grabbed his arm and hauled him into his little tech workshop that housed Babycakes among other things.

"Let's look" Ed stated.

Both men gazed around the room. Nothing popped out to Ed. These two were such good friends, there had to be a small memento here somewhere. Ed held up a gear. Spike shook his head no. A timer. No. An old mouse. No. It went on for five minutes and Spike discounted everything Ed selected.

Ed leaned back on the rack behind him. There had to be something. Anything. He tilted his head up and looked at Spike's collection of DVDs across the room. He remembered he and Sam refused to watch any of them when they recouped together. They never told Spike. Just thanked him.

As Ed pushed off the rack something fell from the top shelf. Spike was fast and caught it before it hit Ed. Not that it would have done a bit of damage. It was a large sombrero.

Damn those three were totally useless the day after their binge at the Mexican bar Ed thought. He enjoyed watching them cringe and squint as he read them all the riot act very, very loudly for coming in partially hung over. He ran their asses off on the field and made them spend hours at the range.

He had Wordy drill them in combat moves focusing on throws for a long time and then he sent the three of them to scrub the floors. Ed thought he had made a real impact on them. But when he checked on them later he found them all singing along, loudly and off key, with the stupid theme song to the old Three Amigos movie.

Ed laughed, the three amigos. It was rather large, but? "Hey Spike, if the courier will take it, how bout the sombrero?" Ed asked.

Spike perked up. He ran to his computer and quickly downloaded something to a flash drive. "If he won't take it he can at least take this. The theme song to the movie" Spike said happily. "Thanks for the help Ed."

Ed inclined his head and patted Spike's back "Anytime, anytime."

They returned to the desk to find Team Three all with coffee in their hands and overheard them thanking Greg for sharing. Even the courier had one.

Spike smiled broadly as he slipped the flash drive in Jules envelope. Then with pleading eyes he turned to the courier "Can you take this too?"

The courier gave him a look of 'really man, you want me to take that?' He was about to say no when Wordy using his calm fatherly voice said "I know it is rather large but it would mean a lot if you could take it."

Winnie pulled out a very large evidence bag from the bottom drawer of the desk. She slipped the hat into it and taped it closed. "All packaged up. No reason you can't take it now with the other two packages" she said firmly. He was a courier after all; it was his job to take packages. Not to judge the contents or size. He looked like he was going to say no and she glared at him.

"But, but, I was paid for only two packages" he weakly stated.

Jules grabbed hers back and sliced open the envelope. Grabbed the package with Beauty from his hands and slipped it in. She and Winnie taped it closed again. Both glared at him.

In the strict voice she had used with her four brothers when she demanded obedience Jules said "Now you have two packages. Any more problems?"

The courier shook his head completely cowed by the forcefulness and outrage coming from the two women. He took the two packages and left as quickly as he could.

Everyone overheard Mike whisper to Wordy "Remind me never to make either Winnie or Jules mad. I like living too much to do that."

When the courier was gone Winnie and Jules gave each other a high five then turned to the guys.

Jules looked to Ed "So workout?"

They all grabbed the coffee trays and headed to the breakroom. They would have lots of iced coffee for later in the day. Spike put the lasagna away for dinner and they all headed to the locker room.

Mike walked to the aisle that most the team was in and tried to open what appeared to be an empty locker but it was locked.

Spike said quietly "Sorry, pick another. That one is Sam's. Still has his stuff in it for when he comes back."

Mike nodded and went to the next aisle already registering the only other locker in that aisle had a plaque on it. It would be wrong to use that one. As he put his stuff away and changed he thought this is one hellava tight knit team. Should be very interesting.

* * *

 ** _House of Commons 1330 (1:30 pm)_**

The General strode firmly through the House of Commons. He was way beyond PISSED OFF. He fought desperately to keep a non-urgent pace and an impassive face.

He was decked out in full dress uniform and was a formidable sight to see as every strike of his heel on the marble flooring echoed around the cavernous lobby. Even with the blank face held firmly in place there was deadly ice in his eyes and people shivered as if a blast of arctic air blew over them as he passed by.

In his mind he was exploding, fragments of the iceberg flying in every direction. That damned capricious, arrogant, despicable, egoistical, greedy, power hungry, unethical, licentious, BITCH. He had tried. Tried everything he could think of. She would not change her stance. She wanted things from him in return he could not and would not ever consider in this lifetime or any other.

His honor, duty and vows to family and country would never, ever allow the things she not so subtly wanted from him. She was a political climber of the worst sort. She was corrupt through and through and totally bankrupt morally. She made him sick and his skin crawl.

She was careful so no trails led to her. All behind the scenes word of mouth deals and blackmail, nothing ever on paper. Her personal paper trail was spotless. She appeared publicly to be valiant and upstanding. But her true nature was quite different.

He had sat in her office laying out his case for over an hour. She had finally stopped him and insinuated what she wanted from him. Directing military contracts to business she identified. Influencing appointments and promotions she wanted. Things he could and would never do not even for his son's sake; so completely foreign to his nature and being. If he had even an inkling of considering it Samuel would have shot him. That was Samuel's job; take out threat's to the safety of the country and the free world.

When he had flatly declined she had ripped the sleeve of her pink suit jacket and slammed her hand on the desk loudly twice then yelled "Don't. No." Followed softly by "Don't tell me you're all noble and willing to give all for Queen and country." She laughed.

Then she had sauntered around the desk. She leaned close and put her hand on his upper thigh. Then she huskily whispered what he could do instead. He would NEVER dishonor Yvonne in that manner. Hell he would never dishonor himself in that manner either. That woman was morally dissipated.

She had laughed when he recoiled at her suggestive words and angrily removed her hand from his leg. Then she had strolled to her side of the desk sat and said that she was sorry they couldn't do business. But if he changed his mind and wanted her to change hers he knew what to do. The choice was his. Then she nonchalantly told him that if he ever told anyone what she had wanted from him she would charge him with assault.

Pointing to her jacket, she had said that her ripped sleeve would be seen as he left the office and she was good at acting scared and vulnerable. He had stood to take his leave unable to be in a room with such a vile woman.

As he was almost out of her secretary's office she showed him how low she really was. In a shaky, tiny voice she had asked her secretary to book her on an afternoon flight to Toronto. She needed to go home to her husband, she wasn't feeling well. She made her eyes teary and her hand shake as she laid it on the ripped sleeve. Then she faked a sniffle and wiping a tear away before closing her office door. She was a damned good actress.

The secretary had instantly seen the watery eyes, ripped sleeve and heard the scared voice. The secretary had glared at him assuming exactly what the committee member wanted her to assume.

If he said anything openly it would be a complete he said, she said scenario and men never won those in the court of public opinion no matter the facts. Especially a hard man like him who was known to rage and had the damnable nickname of 'badass'. It would be a bloodbath in the press and in the end he would lay disemboweled for all to see and pick at even though he was innocent.

This path was closed for Samuel's situation. But this woman had no idea who General William Braddock was and that you did not piss him off unless you were prepared for a fight. He was definitely pissed off. She had no idea what he was capable of and the resources that were available to him. The bitch would go down and go down hard.

He would do it covertly and gather the appropriate evidence. His name would not be attached in any way to it. But when he was finished it was likely she would never see another day outside prison.

William had sworn an oath to protect this country and its citizens. A Braddock always did his duty even if they didn't like it or the personal cost was high. It was too ingrained in all of them; it was who they were.

But this the General thought, this he would enjoy doing on two levels. Self-serving, power-grubbing, corrupt politicians like her were a direct threat to all he held dear, country and in this case family too. She may hold the cards at the moment but not for long. He would bring her to justice. She had just pissed off the wrong man.

Unable to gather the required unanimous votes for now, he decided he would focus on this son's health before tackling the problem of the corrupt politician. Shifting his thinking to Samuel's injuries one outcome he didn't want to think much on is that if his eyesight or memory didn't return that would resolve the situation of him being in the military.

However, it opened a whole new set of problems. If he didn't get his memory back Samuel would forever be at risk from enemies unknown. Same if his eyesight didn't return plus he would need to create a new life. The SRU job Samuel loved so much would be gone. The General would need to plan for several contingencies.

His thoughts were interrupted just outside the building as his phone rang "Braddock"

 _["Sir. Ninety minutes out. Connelly Airport gate two" Mike relayed.]_

"Roger. Status?" William asked.

 _["Conscious, unchanged" Mike heard the troubled sigh of the General and the laughter coming from the four men behind him so he added "But in good spirits."]_

The last was a good sign. He hadn't seen Samuel in good spirits in the whole four weeks at the cabin.

"Roger. Thanks." He hung up and then headed to his office. William needed to change into civilian clothes, grab their bags and get to the private airport.


	27. A Start, Duty Calls, A Job & Day 17

**A Start, Duty Calls, A Job & Day 17**

* * *

 ** _Twelve Days After Rescue – Gulfstream Private Jet Inflight to Ottawa_** ** _–_** ** _1930 (7:30 pm)_**

They had been in the air for nearly four hours now. Winds was resetting his watch to Ottawa time. It currently read 1930 "Hey Mason, 1930 Afghan time is 1100 Ottawa right?"

Mason laughed, Winds sucked at time conversions "Yeah. Gonna be a long day huh. But you need to reset to Yellow Knife time not Ottawa since we are staying with Blondie. It's two hours earlier than Ottawa, or is that later? Anyways I get the wording confused. But either way by the time we get to Yellow Knife it will be 0430 where we started the day but only 1800 at our destination."

Winds did the mental calculations, he would be up for near on thirty-six hours since he had taken the night shift with Blondie last night. And it would only be 6:00 pm when they got there. He groaned "Guess it's no rest for the wicked so to speak."

Mike called back "No worries. Craig and Jack will take first watch at the cabin. You guys look shot to hell. I know you've been waiting for Sam to wake. But Drake says he's still sleeping like a baby and from the looks of him Sam could use all he can get right now. No harm can come to him here. Why don't you all rest a bit?"

Drake immediately kicked back and closed his eyes knowing he should rest while he could. Winds and Mason conferred. The agreed Mike was right. Blondie was safe for the moment. This was a great place and time to get a bit of shut eye. They reclined the soft chairs and closed their eyes.

Winds kept shifting around trying to get into a comfortable position. Mason had grabbed the only available pillow. They had used the others for Blondie. Mason told him to quit groaning about not having the pillow and be happy they weren't lying on the hard metal benches. Winds shot back at him an off color remark but found a comfy position and quit making noise.

Sam thought shit not again, waking up and being confused was really wearing on him. All his instincts told him he was flying but there was no way in hell he could be flying. Things didn't add up.

He was on a soft very comfortable bed. How could he be in a bed and flying? The last he recalled the doctor shone a light into his eyes and it sent him over the edge.

Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. But then he heard the soft drone of a jet engine. He was definitely flying.

As he woke more fully his mind recalled the discussion with the doctor. He must have been travel ready. They must be taking him home.

Then urgent bodily functions made themselves known to him. His bladder was too full, he needed to piss. He shifted on the bed trying to sit up. It hurt. He groaned and settled back a moment to get it under control.

Drake had fallen asleep quickly. Winds and Mason were on the cusp of sleep when they heard a groan. "Winds, shut up already and just go to sleep man" Mason said and he threw a pillow at him.

"Wasn't me, must be Drake" Winds said catching the pillow and putting it behind his head. Mason just lost his pillow Winds smirked; teach him to throw it at me.

Sam heard the exchange between Winds and Mason. He felt a sense of relief and safety hearing their voices. Those two were always near and he had come to rely on that. It was still disconcerting not being able to see and knowing they were near helped calm him.

But right now he really, really had to relieve himself. Sam tried to raise himself up again. The bed was comfy but it was flat and pushing himself upright from a completely prone position hurt a lot. Damned ribs he thought as pain rippled across his chest as he only raised himself half way. He groaned in pain again and lay back down.

Winds heard a groan again. His mind registered who it was. Winds shot out of the chair and was at Blondie's side in a flash. Mason close on his heels.

"Hey Blondie. You okay? Are you in pain?" Winds asked.

Sam opened his eyes. It was completely pitch black. He started to panic until his mind recognized something soft was over his eyes. He reached up and touched it; a sleeping mask. He thought much nicer than the cloth; he could sit up with this on.

His bladder screamed at him and he could not hold out much longer. He didn't want to ask for help but he also didn't want to pee his pants that would be mortifying. Ill at ease asking for help with something so private Sam faintly muttered "Gotta take a leak."

They laughed at him. Great I'm a source of amusement he thought. But in no time they had assisted him to sit and provided him the necessary items to take care of business himself. He would have preferred the bathroom but it was too small for Mason to maneuver him into.

When he was done and resituated on the edge of the bed Mason asked "You Hungry?"

Sam responded "Starving, got anything better than crappy hospital food?"

"Much better. Got several choices for you" Drake listed off all Sam's choices.

Sam heard the new voice. He wondered if Zach was here. He had not heard him yet. But he held off asking to respond to the new voice that he'd like the turkey sandwich option.

"Coming up" Drake said and moved to the galley.

Then Sam asked "Is it dark in here? Can I take the mask off?"

Winds answered "The plane is as dark as we can make it but it's small and some light is coming through the open cockpit making it brighter than your room. Want to chance it?"

Sam nodded and closed his eyes before removing the mask. He slowly opened his eyes bit by bit. It was bearable. Not great but not like it had been. He tried to focus on the face right in front of him. Blurry.

Well at least there was less sensitivity. The doctor would say progress. His ankle started throbbing from hanging down. But he didn't want to lie down. The ribs felt better upright at the moment.

Knowing he was in a small private jet now he asked "Is there a chair I could sit in where I could prop my foot up? Feels better sitting right now except the ankle."

Before he could react he was scooped up and transferred gently to a chair. Christ Mason was huge and strong he thought.

They settled him in and brought him food and drink. Two new men were introduced to him. One of them took his vitals as he scarfed down the sandwich. He asked for another and one was brought to him. He asked for coffee and was flatly denied they brought him orange juice instead.

"Is Zach here?" Sam finally asked.

"No his leave was up and he had to return to base. Wasn't at all happy about having to go. Said to tell you the family, all your cousins are pulling for you to recover quickly. Said he would talk to Laura if you needed help to recover again" Winds told him.

Finishing the last bite of the second sandwich he asked "Who is Laura?"

Winds explained to him that she was his twin cousin Scott's wife and the Commander-in-Chief's daughter. Sam asked what he meant by twin cousin and why Zach would talk to her. Winds laughed as he explained about Scott's and Sam's moms and what Laura had initiated when his lungs were badly damaged. The more he heard about the family and friends of Sam/Blondie the more he wished he could remember them.

More food appeared in front of him and he continued to eat. It was so much better than the hospital crap. Polishing off a third sandwich and a ginger ale he realized his mood was contented and happy. He chalked it up to a full stomach and anticipation that going home would trigger his memory.

And for some reason he felt a great deal of relief just being out of the hospital. He hadn't realized how twisted in knots he had been just being there. But knowing he was not in it felt so good. Sam closed his eyes, leaned his head back and sighed.

Winds and Mason had watched as Blondie downed three sandwiches, an apple, a bag of chips, two orange juices and a ginger ale. It was damned good to see him eat; he had lost so much weight. He always recovered so much better outside of a hospital.

They gave each other a knowing look when they heard Blondie's contented sigh. Each leaned back in their chairs and quietly relaxed a little bit. Hope surged that their little brother was still in there and he would come back to them soon.

Quiet didn't last long, it actually got rather loud and boisterous as the five men laughed and joked around. Conversation started when Sam asked why they were in a private jet instead of a military plane. They told him why and then how they got him out of the hospital and through airport security. He laughed at the description of Mason in the suit.

Sam still didn't recall anything they said about his life. He was glad when conversation shifted away from him and they started to share about their lives. When the talk wasn't all about the Blondie/Sam guy it took the pressure off trying to remember. That alone lifted his spirits.

They conversed, argued good-naturedly and joked about sports, guns, hunting, fishing, race cars, women, movies, the latest news, and old funny stories. It felt good to simply talk and hear about normal things. A few minutes ago he heard the pilot inform someone that they were ninety minutes from their destination.

After what felt like hours the talk finally died down. From the steady, slow, soft breath sounds around him and his fuzzy view of the cabin Sam deduced that the three guys in chairs near him settled back and went to sleep.

In the quiet a little anxiety started to creep in but he quashed it. He was going home. From what they told him he had lots of people that cared. So going home would be a good thing. He was tired now too. It had taken a lot out of him just sitting up for so long.

He tried to push the chair into the reclining position to rest. It took too much effort and pain lanced his ribs again. A strong desire not to admit pain to anyone kept him quiet as he shifted trying to ease the pain and get comfortable sitting upright in the chair. No position was comfortable so he stopped moving and breathed slow and deep to gain control over the pain.

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin when felt someone fiddle with his IV. He hadn't heard anyone approach. The clear but quiet voice of Drake said "Sorry didn't mean to startle you. Just needed to attach the portable pain med pump so you can dose yourself if the pain gets too much to handle."

When Drake was done he put the control button in his hand.

Sam knew Drake moved away but he heard absolutely nothing again. That man had stealth down pat Sam thought. A bit scary he hadn't heard him move, he always heard everything. Somehow he knew, just knew that that was true. He always heard.

It felt good to know a concrete fact about himself. Successive thoughts flashed in his mind. A dark haired man in a room full of blue lockers tried to sneak up on a blonde haired man. The tables were turned and the blonde man scared the shit out of the dark haired man instead. The thoughts stayed. It felt like it might be a real memory but he could not place it.

He wondered if he was the dark haired man or the blonde. Wait, he was the blonde, they kept calling him Blondie. They wouldn't do that if he was dark haired, would they? No probably not. So he was blonde. They felt right somehow. Just like his previous revelation that he always heard.

Two facts he now knew about himself. Sam smiled slightly and sighed. It wasn't much, but it was a start he thought tiredly.

Maybe relaxing and thinking about other things had opened his mind allowing something to filter back. He yawned and yawned again. He silently wished he could lie down again on that comfortable bed but he did not want to wake the others.

Sam hated being dependent and a burden he wanted to be in control and do for himself. When they woke up he might ask but for now he would just deal with it. He smiled again, another fact about himself; he needed to be in control of his life.

A while later he was seriously contemplating crawling back to the bed. That way he wouldn't have to bother anyone. Unable to recline the chair his head kept nodding to his chest.

Each jerky drop of his head elicited pain in his ribs. Sam shifted trying to find a more comfortable position one that did not ache so much. He was not successful. He twisted the wrong way and pain sliced across his chest again. Eyes squeezed tight, jaw clenched to stay quiet he inhaled and exhaled fast and shallow through his nose. He pushed the button.

Quiet rustling and the sound of a leg rest being retracted alerted Sam one of the guys got up from a chair. Breathing still a bit rapid but calming and eyes still shut Sam heard the hushed bass voice of Mason close to his ear.

Mason whispered softly as his huge hand lightly ruffled his hair "Time to go back to bed Sunshine. You should've asked me for help when the pain started. But you've always been a bit too stubborn for your own good. Ready?"

Sam realized Mason must have been watching him instead of sleeping. It sucked not seeing clearly. Sam nodded assent and Mason carefully lifted him.

Mason carried him to the back and effortlessly lowered him to bed. He deftly assisted in positioning him comfortably. It felt good to lie down. Sam opened his eyes and really tried to focus on the face the man. He so wanted to see clearly but there was no change.

Tiredly Sam murmured "Thanks Mason."

Softly again Mason said "No thanks needed Sunshine. We've got your back like you have always had ours."

Sam felt something being pulled across his legs.

Mason continued in the kind, hushed voice "We'll be landing in about forty minutes. Just gonna attach these straps across you to keep you safely in the bed when we land. That way you don't have to move to the chair again." He finished then said "Here, put the mask on too. We have to open the shades for landing."

Mason held out the mask. Sam reached for it and missed. The huge hands clasped around his hand engulfing it as he passed off the mask.

As Sam put it on he thought that this mountain of a man was so gentle, kind and protective. He wondered what he had done to deserve such care from him and Winds. As the pain meds relaxed him and he slipped into sleep he had an image of large and small hands holding.

But the large hands, the protective, caring hands were holding small delicate ones that belonged to a small girl with sparkling eyes and a lovely smile like a little princess. For some reason the image made him feel strong, protective, warm and happy.

The image melted into a backdrop of a swirl of many colors. He was sad when the image of the little girl fluttered away. But the feelings did not fade away. Was another real memory? If so he wondered who the girl was.

* * *

 ** _Connelly Airport Gate 2_** ** _– 1500 (_** ** _3:00 pm)_**

Pacing back and forth at gate two General Braddock was in civilian clothes. When he arrived at his office his staff had given him two packages delivered by the courier. He hadn't looked in either package yet but he could tell there was a huge sombrero in one. He chuckled lightly wondered just what memory that one was associated with. God he hoped Sam remembered things soon.

He couldn't wait to see his son. They should be here within the next five minutes. Winds had called to tell them they were on approach about ten minutes ago. He had asked about Samuel and was told he was asleep now but had his appetite back and seemed to be in good humor earlier. That was good news.

His phone rang "Braddock."

 _["William got your message about the committee member hold out. Sorry to hear she was uncooperative and unswayable. Sorry again, but you are not going to like this call one bit either."_

 _"I got the final results from JAG. That avenue is a no go also, contract stands solid. I also got your request for leave. Normally it wouldn't be a problem. I really hate to do this to you but I have to deny it."_

 _I need you in London for the next week or so. Lieutenant General Hammond was going to attend the conference but I was just informed he's in the hospital. Poor man had a heart attack"_

 _"Sorry but you're the only one with the right knowledge for the conference" the Commander-in-Chief stated.]_

General Braddock slumped into a chair. Absolutely nothing was going his way today. Three blows to the gut. All he wanted to do was be with Samuel but duty called.

He sat up his back ram-rod straight and confidently responded "Sir I understand. I spoke with Hammond just yesterday. I'm fully briefed on the issues and conference agenda. When was he scheduled to leave?"

 _[McFergus truly hated to do this to Braddock. But he had no other options. He liked Sam a lot and he knew he was not doing well from what Braddock had told him. He knew he wanted to be there for his son but he also knew the man had a strong sense of duty and could always be counted on to do what was necessary._

 _"Hammond's flight is scheduled to leave in three hours. It can be pushed back by two if necessary but any more than that and you will be late to the conference" James replied.]_

"No need to push I'll be ready in three. When I'm back from the conference I assume if no other pressing issues arise you will grant the leave" the General stated.

 _["Absolutely" McFergus answered.]_

The General saw the plane pulling up to the gate as he hung up with the Commander-in-Chief. Dammit, just dammit. He just had enough time to go to the plane and check on Samuel.

He needed to go pack his dress uniforms and gather the appropriate files. Security. He needed a security team. He would leave Samuel in the care of his, they were the best and he trusted them implicitly.

He dialed.

 _["Sutton" Tom answered.]_

"Tom, need a security detail of four to accompany me to London. Who do we have available that can be ready to leave in two?"

 _[He knew about Hammond but he was wondering why Braddock was requesting someone other than Mike so he asked "Sir. What about Mike and his unit?"]_

"Currently engaged on a higher priority. Unable to pull him off for the London trip" he responded.

 _[Higher priority must have something to do with Sam. Unable actually meant unwilling in this case._

 _"Understood. In country and not assigned at present I have three members of Blaze's unit, Warrant Officer Oscar Halverson (Hal), Master Corporal Russell Kostopoulos (Russ) and Corporal Daniel Weber (Daniel). I also have two rookies from Mason's unit Corporal Stefano Xenos (Apollo) and Corporal Levi Melton (Pawn)."_

 _Sutton went on to describe each soldier's unit roles and skillsets.]_

"Assign Hal, Russ, Daniel and Pawn" the General directed. He picked them to give him a well-rounded unit. Hal had pilot and leadership skills. Russ was a marksman. Daniel was a recon specialist. Pawn was medic and tactician.

The General saw the plane door open the Mike and Winds head down the steps. "Tom I have to take care of something before I leave. Need a favor. Would you notify my head of staff to pull the files for the conference, assign two analysts for travel and have him pack my dress uniform, it's in my office at present. I have everything else I need already with me. I'll meet the unit at the airfield."

 _["Wilco. And Will, Mike will keep Sam safe until you can return" Tom stated.]_

"Thanks Tom" he hung up and walked out to meet Mike and Winds on the tarmac.

General Braddock explained the situation, neither was happy but they understood the General would always put duty before personal cares. He handed off Samuel's bag, the sombrero package and two other bags. Mike was so thorough, enroute he had arranged for bags to be packed for Winds and Mason with their civilian clothes and necessary items. He boarded the plane and greeted the other men. They left the plane to give the General privacy using the excuse they needed to stretch their legs.

William sat on the edge of the bed and watched his son sleep. His face looked much better. All the swelling was gone. Only faint bruising still showed.

Samuel looked peaceful sleeping. He didn't want to wake him so refrained from touching him. He saw the duck was still with him, the head was peeking out from under the pillow. He smiled as he remembered watching Samuel sleep as a very little boy clutching his stuffed blue dog.

The General checked his watch, he had to go soon. He said "Get well son. I'll be back as soon as I can. Leaving you in good hands until then. You're gonna have to tell me about that sombrero."

He opened the smaller envelope he had retained. He saw all the small items in it and smiled. That team cared so much for his son.

Shifting things around he found what he was looking for in another small envelope inside. He wasn't sure how it worked for him or if it worked while he was sleeping. But carefully inserted the ear buds and turned on Beauty. Maybe it would help him subconsciously.

He lightly patted Samuel's shoulder "Love you son. Can't wait to have morning coffee with you. Brought the special mugs you got us. See you soon son."

William looked at his watch. He was running late now. He set the envelope on the bed, stood and left the plane.

* * *

 ** _Fifteen Days After Rescue – London Hotel Room_** ** _–_** ** _2300 (11:00 pm)_**

Sitting with his feet kicked up on the small table and a computer in his lap General Braddock was waiting for his phone call to be answered. He had just reviewed the latest information on the committee member his analysts had uncovered. Knowing her MO they were beginning to uncover a few things. But he needed more and fast.

 _["Bonjour."  
(Hello) the man on the phone answered.]_

"Bonsoir Dom . Il est Will."  
(Good evening Dom. It is Will) the General responded.

 _["Mon ami si bon d'entendre ta voix. Êtes-vous en France à nouveau?"  
(My friend so good to hear your voice again. Are you in France again?) Dominique Savoy asked.]_

"Pas à Londres. Je me demandais si vous pouviez me répondre demain. Je ai un travail que je pourrais utiliser votre aide."  
(No in London. I was wondering if you could meet me tomorrow. I have a job that I could use your help with) William stated.

 _["Je suis désolé mon ami, je ne peux pas répondre demain. Mais si vous pouviez me donner une idée de ce que vous avez besoin maintenant, je pouvais voir ce que je pouvais organiser."  
(I'm sorry my friend I cannot meet tomorrow. But if you could give me an inkling of what you need now I could see what I could arrange) Savoy answered. _

_Dom was truly interested. It wasn't often but Braddock always had the most interesting things for him to do.]_

"Je dois un petit projet qui nécessite votre ensemble de compétences. Besoin d'engager une cible féminine, attirer la cible et recueillir des preuves tangibles des affaires de corruption. Besoin d'identifier le réseau et de déterminer comment profonde ou large de la corruption va. Il est une situation délicate et mon nom ne peut pas être associé d'aucune façon."  
(I have a little project that requires your skill set. Need to engage a female target, lure the target in and gather tangible evidence of corrupt dealings. Need to identify the network and determine how deep or wide the corruption goes. It is a delicate situation and my name cannot be associated in any way) William loosely outlined.

 _["Sonne juste mon truc. Je pourrais prendre des dispositions pour vous rencontrer en trois jours . Serez-vous toujours à Londres, alors?"  
(Sounds right up my alley. I could arrange to meet you in three days. Will you still be in London then?) Savoy asked with eagerness in his voice. _

_The General engaged him when something needed to be off the books. He wished he could get started today but he needed to wrap up his current assignment.]_

"Je serai encore à Londres. Nous pouvons répondre à la même pub comme d'habitude. Dites 22h00."  
(I'll still be in London. We can meet at the same pub as usual. Say 2200 hours) Braddock suggested.

 _["Bien bien. Jusque-là, au revoir."  
(Good, good. Until then goodbye) Savoy hung up the phone and returned to his current target. _

_He sauntered over, sat down and poured the wine. She would be an easy target to extract information from. Just a little bit of alcohol and wooing and he would get all he needed from her.]_

* * *

 ** _Seventeen Days After Rescue – Yellow Knife Safe House_** ** _– 2300_** ** _(11:00 pm)_**

Sam was sitting alone on the porch swing wearing a large sombrero and a hockey jersey. In his right hand he held a plane, a cat, a snake, a spider, a shovel, a boat and a bullet. In his ears was a pair of raggedy earbuds.

The sound was set to a very low volume and he was listening to some pretty strange music. The playlist was eclectic and he could tell who ever put it together put a lot of effort into it. In a small box next to him were several more items. He spent hours each day alternating holding the items hoping for a memory to break through.

"Hey Blondie, it's pretty cold out here and getting kind of late. Sure you don't want to head in?" Mason called from the cabin doorway.

Sam gave him a sullen look that said 'go away and leave me alone'. He snapped out curtly "No" and turned his gaze back to the darkness of the trees in front of the cabin.

He heard the door close. Sam was in a foul, disagreeable and defiant mood today. He needed the quiet of the night, the feel of the cool breeze, the smell of the pines and to be left the hell alone.

When he woke up here five days ago it felt somewhat familiar, but it wasn't home. They explained to him where he was and why. He could understand the reasons but he really wanted to go home and he really wanted coffee.

Physically he was feeling much better. Drake had fitted him with an ankle brace yesterday afternoon and he was now allowed to walk short distances without the crutches. The light sensitivity had lessened significantly. As long as he wore dark wrap-around sunglasses he could handle being in full sunlight. But the blurriness had not really improved. His ribs still hurt but every day they got a bit better.

He was happy to have the IV out. After dinner tonight he had insisted Drake remove it. Drake only agreed when Sam told him he would rip the god damned thing out himself if Drake didn't remove it. Drake agreed but made Sam promise to go two days on scheduled doses of oral pain meds. After that it would be as needed.

Sam reached down and grabbed the bottle of beer he had nicked tonight without his keepers knowing about it. There was something about the sombrero that made him think about beers and scrubbing floors. He opened the beer and took a small sip then placed it out of view again. He really didn't want it; he wished it was coffee instead. Damn Drake.

If he could find the coffee he would make some. But he couldn't find it. They hid it on him after the second time he had tried to make it himself in the middle of the night. He pleaded his case every day. Drake would not budge and the others deferred to Drake's decision. Drake told him caffeine can disrupt sleep and promote anxiety and depression. That Sam needed his sleep and given his current conditions would not risk the other two. Damn Drake.

Determined to find the coffee, late last night he searched again. In his searching he found the beer and considered taking one but his mission was to find coffee. So he left the beer alone and continued searching. It sucked searching essentially blind.

As he was checking the last cabinet Drake scared the crap out of him again. The man was catlike and he never heard him approach. From right behind him Drake chuckled 'just give up, you're not gonna find it until I approve you can have it'.

Drake laughed harder as he spun and struck out at him. He missed him by a mile, not only was Drake silent he was fast, god damned ninja-like. Disgusted with Drake and himself he had hobbled back to bed thoroughly pissed off.

After another night filled with nightmares he woke in a belligerent mood. All day today he chaffed about the situation. He hated feeling like he was being treated like a child.

If he wanted coffee, he damn well should be able to have coffee.

Tonight when all the guys left to do a perimeter check he briefly searched for the coffee again. He had no luck again so he decided to take the beer instead. He didn't really want a beer but it was a form of rebellion against his keepers.

Damn Drake and for that matter damn Mike, Mason, Winds, Craig and Jack. They all sucked for not letting him have coffee. What real harm could one cup do?

Beer hidden in his pocket of his cargo pants he had grabbed the sombrero and his box of items and limped to the porch. When the guys returned from the check he churlishly told them he wanted some time alone.

They all knew he was still in a bad mood so went into the cabin and left him alone on the porch swing. They had checked on him several times in the past two hours but he just kept telling him he wasn't ready to come in. He reached down grabbed the beer again and took a second sip and put it back again.

Drake was sitting quietly near the door. He had come out when Mason opened the door asking if Sam wanted to come in yet. He watched as Sam took a sip of the beer; only his second in two hours. Clearly he really didn't want it. He had seen him covertly take it earlier.

Sam didn't realize he was never left alone; one of the guys always had a visual on him. Sam didn't know he was here now and he had not known he was sitting on the kitchen counter when Sam entered the kitchen earlier. Drake refused to say anything both times because he was tired of scaring the crap out of him.

The last time he did was part of the reason for Sam's surly mood today. Drake was kicking himself mentally all day long. He really shouldn't have laughed when Sam swung at him and missed.

Winds, Mason and Mike made his life hell today because of it. But he figured he fully deserved whatever they meted out to him. Drake felt bad about laughing and tried to apologize multiple times but Sam ignored him completely until he wanted the IV out tonight.

However a larger part of the bad attitude today was that he constantly denied Sam coffee. He had found out just how resourceful Sam was as he tried to fulfill his desire for coffee. Finding a good hiding place had been a real challenge.

Drake hated denying him that but it was more important that he recover. He was not sleeping at night. Sam was plagued by nightmares and nothing seemed to relieve them. The duck did help calm him after but they didn't stop them.

In an effort to restore Sam's mood tonight he decided to let Sam have a few swigs of the beer but not much. He had watched the last few hours and seen him only take two drinks. He didn't really seem to want it. So he finally decided to take it away. He rose from his place on the porch. Instead of speaking he opened the door to alert Sam.

Sam reached for the beer for a third time and was about to take a drink but stopped midway when the door opened again. Crap, can't they just leave him the fuck alone tonight? He waited for the request for him to come inside again.

"So Sam, I see you found the beer. Not allowed to have that either. Hand it over" Drake ordered.

Sam glared in his direction but held out the beer for Drake to take. He didn't really want it anyways. He took off the sombrero and placed it on the ground beside him.

On his way into the cabin Drake said apologetically "Sam I'm truly sorry for laughing last night. I shouldn't have. I promise, when you are sleeping through the night you can have coffee and when you are off the pain meds you can have beer."

Sam completely ignored him.

Drake went inside and closed the door. Inside he dumped the beer down the sink. Then he told Winds that he was on watch now. Drake headed for the surveillance room to check in with Mike.

Sam realized he needed to change his attitude. Mostly he knew Drake was only acting out of concern for his health. He really wasn't sleeping well. The nightmares had changed. It was no longer just eyes. Full images of god awful things, death and pain invaded his sleep.

He saw images of many heads blown apart. Lots of buildings exploding. Men blown to bits stepping on landmines. Red hot needles jabbing into a stomach. A woman shot and bleeding on a roof. A small boy curled in a corner as a grenade rolled towards him. A little girl lying dead with no shoes on. An older man unconscious and bleeding lying on top of a younger man.

None of the images connected. They were just horrible. He woke drenched in sweat and screaming at least once every night. It sucked. He could only guess they were his memories somehow but it was like he was an outside observer as this happened to people unknown. He shivered. He didn't want to think about any of that right now. They would attack his thoughts soon enough.

He forced himself to think of something different. His gaze shifted to his box. His left hand felt around in the box and landed on the zipper bag the cookies came in. Picking it up and unzipping it he inhaled the lingering scent of the cookies. He smiled despite his bad mood. They were delicious. The cookies only lasted a day. He shared them with all the guys, didn't want to but it was the right thing to do. He inhaled again then closed the bag and set it back into the box.

Feeling a bit less truculent his mind wandered to the perfumed card. Wow that one was powerful; it stirred deep emotions of passion and hurt at the same time. The perfumed card elicited feelings and did things to his body that would be embarrassing in front of the others. So it was now tucked under his pillow and only pulled out at night when all was dark. He wished it would evoke an image to go with the feelings but it only brought the feelings.

His mood was improving thinking about the items. So he thought about how Winds had read him the notes and described all the people and details in the pictures. He concentrated very hard trying, craving, begging for something to connect and be a real memory not just something the guys had told him about. To feel and know it was him that remembered. But it never came no matter how many times Winds and Mason described the people in the pictures.

Sam lightly held the items in his hand. Maybe if he narrowed his focus and concentrated on a single item.

He switched the bullet to his left hand and placed the other items in the box. Closing his eyes he fixated on the feel of it in his hand. Long, about two and a half inches. Smooth, cool metal that tapered to a point. In his head it clicked, ammo for a Remi 700. Sam lightly caressed the bullet with his thumb as he thought, deadly in the right hands.

He continued to concentrate on it as Another One Bites The Dust by Queen played in his ears. His mind was assaulted with image after image of a bullet fired hitting a human head. So very many faces then it stuck on one.

Just one face. It did not retreat to the background like the others. It stared at him with blank green eyes. When the song finished he yanked out the ear buds and squeezed the bullet tightly in his left hand.

"Winds" he called out low with a tremor in his voice. "Winds" he said a little louder as his heart started to beat rapidly. Tears blurred his vision even more as he yelled in horror "WINDS."

Winds heard the alarm in Blondie's voice and raced out the door. The kid was shaking. He moved close "Blondie?"

He saw the tight fist. He looked at his face and sucked in a breath. He knew that intense shattered pain. He remembered.

Why did it have to be this one he remembered first? Tears clouded Winds eyes as he shoved the box out of his way and sat next to Blondie then pulled him close wrapping his arms tightly around him. "It's okay Blondie. Let it out. Let it all out kid. I'm here, it's okay."

Gut wrenching anguish saturated his words "It's not okay. I killed him. I killed Matt. I blew him away. There was nothing left of his chest. I killed my brother. I obliterated his heart."

The cries of agony from Sam as he completely broke down experiencing the loss like it was the first time brought the other men running from several directions to the porch.

Mason went to them and knelt in front of Blondie. He wrapped his long arms around both of them.

Mike watched saddened. It was distressing to see someone in that much pain. He knew only two memories would be that dreadful for Sam, he wished the General was here. His men watched worried but unaware of the reason other than Sam had likely remembered something terrible. They all had at least one terrible memory. Mike just looked at them and they knew to head back to their positions and give Sam some privacy.

It was a long time before Sam finally calmed. When Winds felt it was appropriate he queried Sam to see if he remembered more than shooting Matt. Sam only remembered Matt was his best friend, his brother. Matt had created the playlist and that he had killed Matt. No other memories had returned.

Sam sat with his head down completely drained emotionally and physically. His gaze locked on his clenched left hand. This hand had pulled the trigger that killed his best friend. How could he live with himself? Drowning in guilt and grief he said nothing and did not resist as Mason gently picked him up and carried him inside and laid him on the bed.

Winds pulled the duck out from under the pillow and put it in Sam's right hand because he had not released his death grip on the bullet in his left. "Try to sleep Blondie. If you need us we will be right here. We're not going anywhere."

Sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, Winds bowed his head. He let tears slip silently. He would be here for Blondie this time as he came to terms with the pain and guilt of killing Matt. He would be here unlike last time when they all had failed to be there for him.

Mason joined Winds on the floor after turning out the lights, leaving only a small dim lamp on. He had not been there when it happened. Tonight ripped his heart to shreds. He couldn't stand seeing Blondie in pain, emotional or physical. That kid had saved his life more times then he could count.

He leaned his head back on the wall and his hand traced the scars on his face. Then his hand landed on his chest where one large scar was hidden. There were things this kid had done for him he could never repay.

There was one thing he had done to Blondie he would spend a lifetime trying to make amends for. Disturbing memories of when he got these scars sifted into his mind.

 _It happened seven months after Blondie joined their unit; only three months after Blondie had been injured saving the unit from the booby-trapped building. He nearly killed Blondie that day as the kid saved his life again._

 _They were heading out for a combined mission with another unit and were in the last Humvee of five. The driver of their Humvee veered slightly more left than all the ones in front of them going down a hill. They hit an IED. Their Humvee flipped and rolled several times finally landing upside down. Some shrapnel had blown through the vehicle. The driver who was from the other unit died instantly._

 _When he first woke in the hospital his memory was only vague bits and pieces. But he remembered Blondie had crawled to him and tended to the deep gashed wounds to his face. Holding pressure bandages to stem the bleeding. He remembered Blondie pushing his hands away and trying to stop him from yanking out the large piece of metal sticking out from his chest._

 _He had so much adrenaline pumping through him he didn't feel the pain and just wanted it out. He dimly recalled being pissed Blondie kept stopping him. Adrenaline made him stronger than he already was and it took a lot of effort for Blondie to stop him. Later in the hospital the doctors told him that if he had pulled it out he would have bled out in minutes. He would be dead, his mate saved his life._

 _Blaze, Winds and Patch were the only ones that visited him the first four days. He kept asking about Blondie but no one would look him in the eyes when they said he would be here when he could._

 _On the fifth day Matt finally came to see him. He asked Matt where Blondie was. Matt told him he was here but before he came in he wanted Matt to tell him that Blondie didn't hold it against him. Blondie understood it was just the adrenaline and confusion of shock. That bewildered him. What did Blondie not hold against him?_

 _Matt then opened the door and Blondie entered. His arm was in a sling and his face looked like he had gone ten rounds with a heavy-weight boxer with his hands tied behind his back. His face was covered in bruises and his right eye was nearly swollen shut. The white of the left eye was now blood-red. There were deep purple marks on his throat too._

 _Blondie refused to talk about his injuries when he asked him about them. In fact he refused to talk at all, just patted him on the shoulder and gave him a lopsided grin before he left._

 _After Blondie left he finally got Matt to tell him all. Blondie had dislocated his shoulder when the Humvee flipped but luckily was not hit by shrapnel. Mason had hit Blondie many times as he tried to keep him from pulling out the metal. Mason had slugged Blondie so hard he had a hairline fracture of the orbital socket of the swollen eye in addition to all the contusions._

 _Matt hemmed and hawed when he asked about the bruising on Blondie's throat and why Blondie didn't say anything. But he finally told him. Mason had choked Blondie unconscious before finally losing consciousness himself._

 _The reason Blondie didn't speak was because he had a mild fractured larynx. Blondie had come to visit as soon as they had released him from observation and bedrest. The doctor advised Blondie not speak for several more days in order to calm down the inflammation._

Mason's gaze landed on his huge hands. These hands nearly choked the life right out of Blondie. These hands had beaten the holy living crap out Blondie. All while Blondie saved his life. The occasional gravelly and hoarse sound of Blondie's voice even today was a direct result of these hands.

He owed Blondie more than he could ever repay. Mason looked back to Blondie in the bed. He would do all in his power to help him and care for him. Mason watched as Blondie's eyes finally closed. Please God let him rest, please no nightmares tonight. Please let him find peace quickly.

His prayers went unanswered. That night Mason, Winds and Sam got little rest. Every time Blondie would fall asleep he would wake a short time later from the same nightmare over and over. Mason was considering giving him a sedative but by dawn Blondie was so worn out his body was finally pulled into an exhausted sleep.

Mike had come in the room and told Winds and Mason to go sleep. Both refused to leave the room in case Blondie had another nightmare. Mike spoke to Drake. Drake administered a sedative to Sam then told Mason and Winds to go sleep. Sam would not wake up for hours. Both still refused. Mike returned and tossed the guys pillows and blankets. They laid down on the floor and fell into a light sleep.

When Drake and Mike closed the door to the room Drake asked "Should we contact the General?"

Mike shook his head no "There's nothing the General could do differently than those two. Mason and Winds have it covered. We let them handle Sam. We watch their six. Remove them from the rotation schedule, set it to the same as we had before."

Drake nodded and went to inform Craig and Jack.


	28. Pub, Challenge, Gorgeous & Cousins

**Pub, Challenge, Gorgeous & Cousins**

* * *

 ** _Eighteen Days After Rescue – London – Faulty Towers Pub_** ** _–_** ** _10:00 pm_**

Dominique Savoy was seated in the back booth of the Faulty Towers Pub with his eyes glued to the front door. He was looking forward to seeing Will after so many years. The last time had been five years ago.

It was always interesting working with him. They met over thirty years ago working a joint covert mission together. Dom was only twenty-one at the time and a rookie member of the British SAS.

The two had jelled immediately and when the mission was over had kept in touch sporadically over the years. As they both rose in the ranks they connected occasionally officially tapping each other's skill set when necessary. But when Dom retired from service ten years ago and gone private, Will still tapped him infrequently when he needed to investigate or deal with something quietly and off the books.

Dom smiled as he saw the General enter he pub. Braddock could never go undercover. His whole bearing and body language screamed military. Even when he tried to relax and blend in like now it was still clearly evident to most people. But that's why Will worked with him.

General Braddock ambled casually into the pub. He was dressed in civilian clothes and had a cap pulled low over his face. He scanned the loud, packed room looking for Dom.

It was a good place to meet. A local pub where the patrons were usually too into their cups to bother with people they didn't know. They had stumbled on it nearly twenty-five years ago. The place hadn't changed a bit in all these years he noted as his looked around.

He finally spied Dom in the back booth. It took a while because the man was a chameleon. He could become anyone and anything in a split second. Dominique could change personas like people changed their underwear. But he was a honest, decent man that felt much like he did about Queen and country and family. That's what made him perfect for what he needed.

William strode over and was looking forward to their conversation. It had been a long time since he had spoken many of the languages they would use tonight. Thirty-three years ago, when they met and found out each loved languages and spoke many, they developed a roundabout way of speaking in public to ensure privacy of conversation.

" _Bonjour Dom"_  
(Hello Dom) the General said in French as he sat in the booth.

" _Фантастический , чтобы видеть вас снова мой друг. Как Ивонна и дети?"_  
(Fantastic to see you again my friend. How are Yvonne and the kids?) Dom replied in Russian.

" _Yvonne und Natalie sind gut. Samuel ist nicht so gut im Moment. Die Arbeit, die ich für Sie habe ihn tatsächlich wirkt als gut. Ich war traurig, über Jeannette zu hören. Mein Beileid an Sie auf Ihrem Verlust . Wie sind Ihre Töchter Anna-Marie und Nico Handhabung?"_  
(Yvonne and Natalie are well. Samuel is not so well at the moment. The job I have for you actually affects him as well. I was sorry to hear about Jeannette. My condolences to you on your loss. How are your daughters Anna-Marie and Nicolette handling it?) Will conveyed in German.

" _Tak min ven. Det har været vanskeligt , men med fokus på arbejde hjælper. Kræft er så nådesløs . Pigerne klarer sig bedre . De tog tabet af deres mor meget hårdt. Nicolette er vendt tilbage til universitetet . Anna- Marie vil blive gift i seks måneder."_  
(Thank you my friend. It has been difficult but focusing on work helps. Cancer is so unforgiving. The girls are doing better. They took the loss of their mother very hard. Nicolette has returned to University. Anna-Marie will be married in six months) Dominique answered in Danish.

" _Es bueno saber. El trabajo que tengo para ti como dije es delicada . Hay un miembro de la Cámara de los Comunes . Necesitaba persuadirla para acordar convertir reactivación completo de Samuel a una asignación especial. Cuando se trata de hacer lo que salió a la luz que ella era sumamente corrupto. Pero todo se hace de boca en boca ya través de chantaje."_  
(Good to hear. The job I have for you as I said is delicate. There is a member of the House of Commons. I needed to persuade her to agree to convert Samuel's full reactivation to a special assignment. When attempting to do so it came to light that she was exceedingly corrupt. But all is done by word of mouth and via blackmail) Braddock started the conversation in Spanish.

Switching between several languages William went on to explain fully and to provide Dom with the scant information they had gathered so far. Dom asked several questions along the way also rotating languages. Anyone listening would be completely confused unless they possessed the capability of comprehending over ten languages.

" _Quindi se ho capito bene . Hai bisogno di me per arrivare vicino a questa donna con ogni mezzo necessario. Guadagnare la fiducia e raccogliere le informazioni che metterà questa cagna via per la vita."_  
(So as I understand it. You need me to get close to this woman by any means necessary. Gain her trust and gather the information that will put this bitch away for life) Dom clarified in Italian.

" _Sed quid opus est."_  
(Yes that is what I need) the General replied in Latin.

" _Wiesz, może po prostu zabić ją dla Ciebie . Problem rozwiązany natychmiast."_  
(You know I could just kill her for you. Problem solved instantly) Dom laughed speaking Polish.

But he was actually quite serious. This bitch was messing with the lives of people he cared about. He would have no qualms taking her out. Their missions in the past had targets of this same nature. People who portrayed themselves as righteous and upstanding when in fact they were slithering cold-hearted vipers praying on others for their own gain.

The General just grinned at him and shook his head no. He knew that even though Dom had laughed he was serious and would do it instantly if he asked. No, he had to do this the right way, legally, even though a small part of him really wanted to tell Dom yes.

They spent the next two hours conversing about normal life and family. Both men enjoying the opportunity to speak languages they had become slightly rusty on due to disuse.

As they were paying the bill Dom said "I'll leave first thing in the morning. I already have an idea of how to proceed. I will provide you updates when I have something significant. I will not fail you my friend" Dominique said seriously.

"Thanks Dom. I know I can count on you." They shook hands and left the pub going opposite directions.

* * *

 ** _Twenty-one Days After Rescue – Special Forces Base Ottawa – Physical Therapy Department_** ** _–_** ** _0900 (9:00 am)_**

Apollo was happy that his time spent in the physical therapy department helped so many. Yesterday was technically his last day there. A group of guys he had helped had gathered together to send him off with a huge thank you card with pictures of them walking. But since he was not currently assigned to a new unit and with Mason gone he was allowed to continue to volunteer and chose to do so.

When he eventually retired from Special Forces in many, many years, Apollo already knew what his second career would be. Lizzy had given him several books to study and he was learning about all the muscles in the body. She quizzed him daily. She said he would be a natural that he had a way of motivating guys that were depressed or despondent. Lizzy attributed a few of the successes directly to his contribution. It felt good.

He looked up from documenting his notes on the last patient. Apollo was glad to see Blaze and Cameo enter. Talk about helping. Christ, Cameo worked ten times harder when Blaze challenged him.

Blaze sure knew how to lead and motivate. Apollo would love to be assigned to his unit someday. Mason was great, but he could learn so much from Blaze too. Today was the big day. The guys would both try to walk the full length of the parallel bars unassisted.

"So kid, you ready for our challenge?" Blaze asked.

Smiling Cameo said with bravado "Bring it on. Be prepared to buy me beer for a month."

Blaze smiled. In the back of his mind he was still deciding whether it was better to let the young pup win or beat him. Not knowing which would be the best motivator for Cameo.

Lizzy walked towards the guys. "So gentlemen I hear today is the big day. Not sure who I'm putting my money on" she said.

Cameo looked at her a bit stunned "People are betting on us?"

Apollo laughed and slapped his back as he approached "You bet. It's about evenly split between those going for the experienced rough and tumbled been there done that guy and the young energetic up and coming hotshot."

Blaze had been impressed how Apollo helped Cameo the past weeks. Whenever Cameo faltered, Apollo was there encouraging him to push through. Lizzy was awesome too. She definitely earned her reputation.

She never put up with his raging crap. She effectively set him in his place or pushed him meet her goals which luckily were the same as his. Lizzy was unquestionably the Ice Queen. He had never used so much ice in his life. He even sat in tubs of ice after their sessions.

But personally she was a warm, lovely, lively, intelligent and caring woman. If he ever chose to settle down it would be with someone like her. He really liked her son too. That boy was sharp as a tack. He had an almost photographic memory.

He had been surprised when Ryan told him where he had first seen him and Russ. The kid described everything down to a tee including the state of Blondie's face that day. Lizzy had shared with him that she was constantly challenged to come up with new things to keep the kid's mind engaged, Ryan devoured information and books.

"Hey Lizzy can I talk to you a moment privately?" Blaze asked.

"Sure" Lizzy answered and moved away from the others with Blaze. Here was a man she thoroughly admired. He was true to his word he did everything she asked of him and more.

In the back of her mind before they had started working his injuries did look just as Bruce had imagined, career ending. But this man pushed through and endured more pain then she could believe and made amazing progress. He surpassed every goal she has set for him. If she ever married again it would be to someone like him.

"So wanted to ask you something, get your opinion" Blaze looked at her. Blaze trusted her insight and she could help him solve his dilemma with Cameo.

"Yeah, shoot" Lizzy smiled as she responded. God she loved the look of fire in his intelligent eyes. She looked at his lips pondering what it would be like to be kissed by him. Then at his arms or to be held safe in his strong capable arms.

Blaze enjoyed the look in her lovely gray eyes when she smiled and his mind wondered what they would look like if his kissed her thoroughly like he had wanted to do for over a week now. Would they blaze at him or would they melt?

Shaking the thought away Blaze said "So the challenge. You and I know I've been holding back to assist Cameo and I can already walk the parallel bars. In your opinion would it be better for his morale if I let him win or not?"

Lizzy gave his question serious consideration. Yes she did know he was holding back in their combined sessions. She had seen Blaze in here later in the afternoons working on his own without Cameo around. She decided to answer with a question "Would you lose respect for someone who you felt manipulated you?"

Interesting question Blaze thought. Letting Cameo win would be a form of manipulation not motivation. It wouldn't be honest or respectful to Cameo. Perfect question to help him make his decision "Thanks Lizzy."

But then she cocked her head, raised an eyebrow and smiled at him again. In a sassy, skeptical voice she said "But I wouldn't be too cocky about winning yet. That young man will give you a run for your money today. Seems he's adopted a bit of your attitude towards rehab. You're not the only one putting in extra time. Unbeknownst to you he has been in here every night for a week working with Apollo for hours."

The stunned look on his face was priceless. It was worth keeping Cameo's secret for a week. Today's challenge was going to be interesting to watch.

Lizzy saw that most of the regular physical therapy patients had started to gather to watch the competition. She winked at Blaze before walking over to the others.

Blaze watched her saunter away. What an amazing woman he thought.

As everyone was getting into position Apollo asked if Blaze had heard anything more about Sam. Blaze simply shook his head. Where ever he was he had a gut feeling Mason, Winds and Mike were with him. He knew he was safe in that respect. But he really wanted to know how he was doing health wise. He pulled himself up to the parallel bars ready to give it everything he had and beat the pants off of Cameo.

A voice called out "Wait don't start yet. My money's on Blaze."

Blaze looked up. Damn it was good to see Angus up and in such good spirits. He had been so worried for him. But Angus had come to his room nine days ago all excited. Said he had helped Spike fix Beauty. Then he told him all about his plans for starting a business when he was finally cleared medically and discharged from military service.

Everything was set. Cameo and Blaze were both at one end of two sets of parallel bars. The first one to make it to the end without putting their hands on the bars would be declared the winner.

The PT department erupted in loud and rowdy shouts of encouragement as they took their first steps. There were a few close calls for each and their hands came close to grabbing the bar to stabilize themselves. In the end it was a dead tie.

Exhausted but feeling on top of the world both collapsed into their wheelchairs at the end of the bars. Each still had a lot of work to do to get back to fighting shape but both knew they would make it now. The observers all grumbled about no winner. But Cameo and Blaze shared a look of mutual admiration and knew they both had accomplished more than a simple challenge. They had won their desired life back, much better than money or beer.

A positive, inspirational mood enveloped the PT department as patients and PTs moved off to get to work. Someone had brought cake to celebrate the winner. They quickly added both names to it in red frosting. A group of patients with later appointments and other observers gathered to one side of the room to share the cake and praise Cameo and Blaze on their success.

Sitting near each other Cameo leaned over and "Thanks Apollo. Thanks Blaze. I truly couldn't have done this without your help guys."

Blaze looked at him and said seriously "No thanks needed kid. It's what we all do. We have each other's backs."

Cameo nodded as full understanding of what it meant to be part of an elite unit of warriors sank in. He would gladly give his life to save anyone of these guys. Apollo patted his shoulder and the two started talking.

Blaze became quiet as the party atmosphere around him continued. Where was Blondie? How was Blondie? As seasoned as he was and knew the drill that he would just have to wait for information, it still didn't make it any easier. Especially when it came to Blondie.

If no information was forth coming it meant he was still in jeopardy and either or both his eyesight and memory had not returned. He wondered which safe house they had moved him to. Blaze hoped it wasn't a piece of crap like the one they were assigned to with Daphne. No it wouldn't be, the General would not allow that to happen again to anyone.

As if his thought of her conjured her up Daphne appeared at his side "Hey big brother. Sorry I was late. Junior here was dawdling this morning. Who won?"

Ben pulled out of his mom's grip and ran to Blaze. "Mommy, wasn't my fault. I needed to finish my Supersam" he said as he crawled up into his uncle's lap clutching a small stuffed Superman doll.

Blaze chuckled lightly as he looked at the stuffed figure. Did he hear right? Supersam?

"So Ben, did you make that modification yourself or did your mommy help you?" Blaze asked.

He was looking at the head of the superman doll. Yellow duct tape had been applied to it haphazardly trying to change the hair color from superman's black to yellow.

Proudly with a puffed out chest, Ben replied "Did it all by myself. Mommy even let me use the scissors. Now it looks like Unca Sam. Do you think he will like it?"

Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out laughing Blaze said "You did a very good job Ben. Looks just like Unca Sam. I'm sure he would like it."

Blondie would be embarrassed to know Ben hero worshiped him. But he couldn't blame the boy. Blondie had saved him. If it had been a real grenade instead of a concussion grenade, Blondie would be dead. Not that they told Ben that, he was too young to know things like that. They only told Ben that Unca Sam had protected him.

"When can I see Unca Sam? Is he back yet?" Ben asked wiggling down from his uncle's lap.

Blaze smiled at Ben "No he's not back yet kiddo. But as soon as he is I'm sure Unca Sam will come visit you. We just have to be patient. You know Unca Supersam has to be away to protect people. It's his job."

Giddy, happy squeals of delight erupted from Ben as he ran around flying the superman doll and saying "Unca Supersam. Unca Supersam to the rescue."

Daphne and Blaze looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

 ** _Lake Near Yellow Knife Safe House_** ** _–_** ** _3:00 pm_**

Fishing pole hanging loosely in his right hand. The small boat held tightly in his left hand. His bare feet dangling off the edge in the very cold water at the end of a long dock, Sam sat thinking.

The last few days had been utter hell. Coming to grips with the fact that he had killed his best friend had not been easy. Winds and Mason never left him. He was glad of their support.

Without them he might not be here right now. The second night he could not bear the weight of the guilt. He seriously contemplated suicide. He had even tried to take Winds' gun from him. Mason had restrained him then held him as he had broken down again. Mason and Winds listened to him for hours as he poured out his pain and guilt.

Winds retold him about Plouffe's involvement. In his grief, Sam had not remembered that part of the story they had told him in the hospital.

They also reminded him that Matt wouldn't want him to do that. Matt had worked so hard to keep him alive several times. That was the reason for the playlist, to remind him of the beauty of life. Winds reminded him why he had the duck and that Matt would want him to be there for his son.

Then Mason told him he understood how he felt on nearly the same level. Mason made him feel his face and his chest. There were deep scars his eyes could not see.

Mason shared with him how he got them and what he had done to him. Mason had revealed he still felt deep unrelenting guilt for his actions. Sam instantly told him that there was nothing to forgive when Mason asked for forgiveness. Sam now understood partially why Mason took such good care of him, why he was always so gentle with him.

It took a while but between Mason and Winds he was able to tuck the feelings of guilt in a safe place. They would always be with him. He would miss Matt. Sam wished he remembered Ben. The boy sounded like a great kid from what Winds told him.

Winds and he had also helped Mason put his feelings of guilt into a safe place. He and Mason had agreed that the feeling would be with them always but they would not let the guilt they felt rule their lives.

From all their discussions related to Matt he was able to identify three elements from his dreams. He didn't really remember them but the images the needles, the curled up boy and heads shots no longer haunted his dreams at night.

Matt had created Beauty to help him recover from some horrific torture he had suffered involving needles.

The curled up boy was Ben and he was told he saved him by jumping on the grenade before it exploded and could harm Ben.

The perfect kill shots on all the heads became clear as Winds explain the full story of Plouffe's connection. He was a sniper with a nauseating high number of kills. Apparently he was a damned good shot.

Sam was beginning to see, through the stories they told him, that fate had dealt him some horrible blows. Although it also brought awesome people into his life. He really wanted to remember all of his life, all the important people in his life.

He desperately wanted every last detail back. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the sweet, the bitter, the joyful and the sorrowful. He wanted everything.

Sam set the pole down and lay on his back to listen to the water lapping at the dock.

From the note with the trinkets, he had learned he had conquered a fear of water; interesting. He wondered what caused the fear in the first place. None of the guys here knew he even had been afraid of the water.

Slowly, Sam moved his feet in the lake. The water was very cold. It soothed his throbbing ankle like an ice bath. It had been a long walk to the lake and he insisted on doing it without the crutches. Stupid. He truly was as stubborn as Mason said he was.

Winds was watching Blondie from a distance, giving him some personal space but not actually leaving him alone. He had suggested taking Blondie to the lake when he saw he needed a change of scenery. Not that he actually saw it but more that Blondie was going stir crazy being cooped up in the cabin for so long.

Dealing with the memory of Matt had been gut wrenching for all three of them. So getting out of the cabin was also good for him and Mason too. He also thought that fear of water thing might incite a memory if Blondie was near the lake.

Blondie could be so damned obstinate. That determined streak probably did more good for him than harm but sometimes he paid a price for it.

Winds shook his head as he recalled that Drake had argued long and hard with Blondie about using the crutches. Blondie kept insisting that his ankle would be okay. He needed to strengthen it by walking. Drake countered every one of his reasons with sound medical reasons why he should use the crutches. But Blondie ended the argument by breaking one of the crutches and simply walking out of the cabin.

Blondie didn't go far. He couldn't see well enough to know which direction to go. So Blondie had waited impatiently at the edge of the trees for the guys to join him then lead him to the lake.

Everyone had spread out and taken up a different watch location to give him some time alone to think. Blondie had brought his box of items. Over the last hour, Winds had seen him switch out one item for another. He could tell that Blondie was trying to recreate the same focused scenario that allowed him to recall Matt.

From his position on a nearby rock, Mason wished Blondie was ready to go; he was cold. Yellow Knife was a cold place. It was only early September but the daytime highs were only in the mid-forties and today it was only forty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Add to that the wind today and it felt colder. Mason did not understand how Blondie could stand only being in a long sleeved shirt and a lightweight jacket; much less how he dangled his bare feet in the frigid water.

Although the cold water probably helped the ankle he thought dryly. Mule-headed ass was gonna pay a price for that one. It was likely to swell and take longer to heal due to the long walk.

He might insist on carrying the kid back whether Blondie wanted him to or not. Mason briskly rubbed his hands together trying to warm up and thought he might actually do that. The little extra exertion would warm him up a bit and that would be good.

Mason saw Blondie sit up and move around a bit. He smiled maybe he was ready to go. Blondie's hand knocked into the fishing pole. Christ! He was closest and leapt from the rock and ran full tilt towards Blondie.

Sam lay on the dock with his eyes closed thinking about the note that came with the seven small trinkets. They apparently represented the fears of his SRU team. He recalled the names and descriptions based on the pictures that were included with the other things. He wished he could actually picture them and really remember them. For them to go to this much trouble he must be important to them and them to him. He switched out the boat for the shovel.

As he focused on the shovel in his hand his mind brought forth the soft and sexy sable brown eyes from his dreams in the hospital. Jules was her name. There was something about that name.

He said the name out loud "Jules."

It came out in a rough voice filled with hunger and need. That shocked him. His mind jumped to the perfumed card that had come with the items from SRU. It had to have come from her, the only female in the team pictures. He wondered just why he had such strong emotional reactions to it and her name.

The scent on the card still made his body react strongly with a mind of its own, like a damned rutting teenage boy in need of an ice cold shower. Sam wondered just what, if anything, was between him and the woman called Jules. Was it a one way attraction?

She signed the note 'Love Jules'. Winds said the 'and all the guys' looked like an afterthought added to the note. Were they in a relationship? Highly unlikely, he couldn't see that type of thing being sanctioned for members of the same team.

It intrigued him. But he really needed to stop thinking about the scent on the card and the sexy eyes of Jules now. Seems just the thought of them now caused the reaction. He was definitely in need of a cold shower right now. Damn good thing the guys were not close enough to see his body's reaction.

Sam dropped the shovel back into the box then he sat up. He scooted around at the edge of the dock trying to covertly adjust a certain part of his body that had grown with thoughts of the scent. As he did so his hand knocked the pole. It started to fall. Sam reached out to try and grab it.

Overreaching, Sam lost his balance.

Sam fell into the cold lake.

Shock of frigid water disoriented Sam for a few moments as he sank. He kicked up to the surface. He had lost his sunglasses. The daylight was too strong and he had to slam his eyes closed.

Which direction was the dock or shore? He treaded water easily as he used his ears to locate the right direction to go. Boots slamming on wooden boards and his name being yelled indicated the direction.

"Reach your hand up Blondie" Mason yelled to his left.

Sam extended his arm and was hauled out of the water.

As Mason set him on the dock he said "Jesus Christ Blondie, I know you don't mind the cold and all but it's too damned cold to go swimming."

More running boots sounded on the dock as all converged around him. "Ah shit Blonde. What the hell? You're gonna freeze your ass off before we get you back to the cabin" Winds yelled at him pissed off.

"Sam are you deliberately trying to make my job difficult?" Mike added angrily.

Dripping wet sitting on the dock Sam thought, so much for needing a cold shower. A cold dunking in the lake worked just as well to remedy that particular problem. Sam laughed out loud at his thought not their comments.

"Just what the hell is so damned funny?" Mike fumed. "The General will kill me if you get pneumonia and die because I let you sit by a frigid lake." Sam stays at the cabin from now on was Mike's silent decision.

Not wanting to share the real reason for his laughter, he settled down. Sam cleared his throat and deflected "Sorry guys it was truly an accident. Was just thinking it was a damned good thing I'm not afraid of water."

"Yeah ... well ... quit scaring the crap out of me" Drake said tired of all the chances Sam took.

Early this morning, Drake woke up and found that Sam had climbed into the loft where the guys slept. He was still searching for the coffee. There was no railing on the loft and Sam nearly fell when he came too close to the edge. Drake had to leap out of bed to yank him back from the edge. And now Sam could have drowned if Mason wasn't so close.

"Me scaring you? Christ, how bout you quit scaring the shit outta me? Nearly made me fall outta the loft this morning. Morbi ut tacitum coluber audituros venis. Aptat vestra damnati call sign. Draculus Latin for meaning nominatur draco draconem inclusit" Sam retorted.

"Sam what the hell did you just say?" Drake asked totally confused.

"What?" Sam said.

"He means what language did you just speak and what did you say? Did you just cuss him out?" Jack laughed.

Sam reviewed what he said. Latin? He knew Latin?

Stunned at himself, Sam said "Latin. I said. You're as silent as a snake, never hear you coming. Fits your damned call sign. Drake, Latin for draco meaning snake or monster."

Several snorts of laughter were heard. Sam wondered how he knew Latin. Did he know other languages? He put the thoughts aside as the cold was starting to get to him.

Starting to unbutton his shirt with slightly shaky hands he said "Help me get these off. It's important to get the wet clothes off fast to prevent hypothermia" Sam said. Again he wondered just how he knew that but he did.

Mike reached down and started to help him. Sam undid his pants and a quick flash of relief came when he knew he was wearing boxers and not going commando today. Odd he thought, did he really go commando sometimes? Who did that?

As he continued to pull off the wet clothes he thought. The strangest images flash in his mind, emotions were felt and weird trivia and languages came out of his mouth. All the while not knowing where they came from. Had to be memories and knowledge he had acquired. He just wished they all connected in his brain.

Craig who was nearly the same build as Sam was wearing two shirts under his jacket. He stripped off the warmest one and handed it to Sam.

Sam put the shirt on quickly. Luckily, his socks and boots were not on at the time. He swiftly put them on.

Jack leaned down and put his knit cap on Sam's head as he said "This should help keep you a bit warmer."

Through chattering teeth Sam smiled "Thanks guys." Then he flippantly and hopefully asked "So does this mean I can have hot coffee to warm up?"

All six guys bellowed "NO!"

Damn he was persistent on that front Drake thought. The physical addiction to caffeine was way past gone. Must be a very strong emotional addiction. But Sam still could not have coffee yet.

Mason scooped him up. Winds gathered the wet clothes. Mike grabbed the box of items. Jack picked up the fishing pole. They double-timed it back to the cabin. As they trekked back Mason smiled and thought I'm nice and warm now.

* * *

 ** _Yellow Knife Safe House_** ** _– 5_** ** _:00 pm_**

Once back at the cabin, Sam took a long, hot shower and changed into warm clothes. When he came out of the room he smelled coffee. He limped to the kitchen. No one was in there so he went to the cabinet that contained the mugs and pulled one out. He was going to have coffee. He poured a cup and turned around intending to take it to his room.

Six men blocked his path.

Drake said "Not happening man. Let me have it." He reached to take the mug from Sam's hands.

"Like hell! If I want coffee, I'm going to have coffee" Sam challenged increasing his grip on the mug.

Winds used his authoritative command voice "Master Corporal Braddock. Put down the coffee. That's an order."

Sam bristled. It was an order from a senior rank.

Mason and Winds saw the internal fight going on in his head. Part of Mason wanted to see Blondie disobey and say fuck the order. But he knew it wouldn't happen, it wasn't in his DNA.

It was a standoff as Sam stared at the fuzzy image of Winds. He folded. It was a god damned order. Somehow he knew it wasn't in him disobey a direct order. Sam set the mug on the counter and pushed past the men.

Craig whispered "How the hell did that work?"

Mason sighed, "A Braddock always follows orders, even when they don't like the order."

He followed then Blondie to the couch near the fireplace. Mason grabbed the throw blanket and tossed it to a dispirited Blondie "Sorry Sunshine."

Sam rolled his eyes at the name. "Not your fault Gorgeous" Sam replied sullenly.

"What did you call me?" Mason asked stunned.

Sam looked at him quizzically, "What I always call you when I'm in a sullen mood. Why do you ask Gorgeous?"

A huge broad smile lit up Mason's face as he yelled "Winds, he called me GORGEOUS! Sunshine called me GORGEOUS!"

Mason pulled Blondie to a standing position and wrapped Blondie in a deathly tight bear hug. Then pulled away and in his excitement shook Blondie's shoulders hard.

Winds and the others came rushing in.

"Stop Mason, before you rattle his brain" Winds said with humor.

When Sam settled back on the couch he asked "What was all that about?"

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Winds said happily "We never told you that you call Mason, Gorgeous. That is something between just the two of you. You remembered that on your own."

Sam grinned as he pulled the throw blanket around him. They all started querying him if he remembered anything else. Nothing else had made it through. But Sam was hopeful now.

Odd, disjointed, not completely comprehensible things were beginning to make themselves known. After everyone finally settled down and drifted off to their assigned positions, Sam sat alone and stared toward the fireplace. He felt the warmth of the fire on his face.

He grinned, something felt every familiar about sitting in front of the fire under a blanket warming his feet in only socks. Like a group of people cared about him and insisted he rest in front of a fire. A strange thought of missing packing boxes entered his head as Drake brought him a sandwich and a mug of hot apple cider.

Drake handed Sam a mug "Sorry it's not coffee but at least it's hot."

Taking a sip of the hot cider, Sam motioned for Drake to come close. Quietly he said "Don't really want to ask ... but Mason's hug was a bit too tight ... and my idiocy walking without crutches …"

"Enough said. Fast acting or oral?" Drake asked, shocked Sam was asking for pain meds.

He didn't want to but he needed relief now, Sam murmured "Fast."

"Be right back" Drake said even more stunned and hurried from the room.

Sam breathed slow and deep and forced his body to relax. When he saw the blurry image of Drake he started to push up his sleeve.

"No Sam, this works faster and better here" Drake indicated the gluts.

"Make it quick" Sam said as he rolled over to one side and exposed the area. Something niggled at the back of his mind that he and needles did not do well together.

Drake injected it quickly. He was surprised Sam did not tense up at the use of a needle. But then again, maybe he didn't remember he was afraid of needles. That was good. Sam had been so rigid when Drake had changed his IV the first time they were here.

"All done. You want to head to bed? I can get Mason to help" Drake asked.

He shook his head and repositioned on the couch propping up his ankle and wondering why Drake would ask if he wanted to go to bed. It was only early evening.

Sam responded "Nah, here is nice right now. Thanks."

Then Sam lifted the sandwich and took a bite and chewed slowly. But he quickly finished the sandwich as he started to get sleepy. Damn Drake, he must have added a sedative too. Well at least he would sleep. If he slept he could have coffee.

* * *

 ** _Ottawa Air Force Base_** ** _–_** ** _2245 (10:45 pm)_**

Zach was dead tired. He had been pulling extra shifts the last week to make up to his buddies for covering his shifts. He had been up for twenty hours straight now. He was looking forward to tomorrow. Zach had one day off before he was back at it. He kicked off his boots and sank into his bunk without bothering to undress and swiftly fell asleep.

Startled awake by his body being pinned to the bed, Zach struggled fiercely to get loose. He stopped dead when he heard laughter from a voice he knew. "God dammit Adam! You scared the shit out of me. What the hell are you doing here bro?"

He was still pinned by a heavy weight when a light switched on. Oh crap, he was in trouble. Four sets of blue eyes, exactly like his, glared at him. He had avoided all calls from them since he returned nine days ago. Zach knew he was in for it now.

Scott strode over and in a cool, calm voice said "Come clean. Tell us exactly what is going on with Sam."

The others surrounded him. There was no escape.

"Let me at least sit up. Adam you weigh a friggin ton. Get off me" Zach grumbled.

Adam shifted and sat on the edge of the bed.

Rubbing his face first several times, trying to stall and think what to say, Zach finally sat up slowly.

"I swear if you don't start talking, you're gonna regret it Zach" Kyle said ominously taking a step closer.

Zach looked to each one. They were just as worried as he was. Probably more so because they had less information than he did. Zach reached under his bunk and pulled out his boots.

"Cuz. We can catch you if you run. You may sprint faster than all of us but Kyle will catch your ass in the long run" Jeff said in his drill sergeant voice.

Zach shook his head "Not running but we can't talk here. How bout we go to Scott's place?"

They all looked to him. Must be bad if he would not talk on a base. They agreed and headed out.

* * *

 ** _Scott's Home_** ** _–_** ** _2330 (11:30 pm)_**

Five Braddock cousins sat around the kitchen table with coffee in hand. No one had badgered Zach for information enroute or while the coffee brewed. Now four, all stared at one.

Under the directed gaze of his cousins and brother Zach shifted uneasily. He really did not want to tell them how bad it was. For days he had been waiting to hear from the General to get Sam's latest status. But he never called. Zach took a sip of coffee and then cleared his throat.

"I assume you all know that Sam reactivated." Nods yes from all. "I didn't lie. I just omitted information based on Uncle Will's direction." He tried to justify to his cousins. No one spoke just glared at him.

"Okay, here's what I know and realize I haven't heard anything myself for over nine days." Zach told them everything about Sam's condition and how he had to leave the hospital. That Winds and Mason and a man named Drake were with him at least when he left the hospital.

"But since then I know nothing more. I do not know where he is at, who he is with or if his eyesight or memory has returned" Zach finished.

Telling them everything actually relieved a great deal of stress Zach didn't realize he had been carrying. They were a close knit family and always willing to help each other out. He wished there was something they could do now.

Jeff said "I know that Uncle Will is in London at a conference. Had to cover last minute for someone that had a heart attack. I doubt he moved Sam to London. Especially since he didn't take his security unit with him."

Adam asked "How do you know he didn't take his unit?"

"One of my recent graduates was injured and is in rehab with Blaze. Went to visit them a few days ago. Blaze told me that Hal, Daniel, Russ and one of my other grads Pawn were assigned to go with him" Jeff answered.

Stretching his back, Scott said "If that is the case, we can likely assume that Mike and his unit are with Sam. Uncle Will would not take any chances. The way you described their exit, it has all the ear-markings of Mike's style. Question remains, are Winds and Mason with him?"

"Unknown. Blaze has not heard from either of them but that could be anything. They could have been sent on a mission that Blaze is unaware of" Adam responded.

Zach yawned "I hope they are with him. They both really care about him. Got to know them pretty well. Mason has a protective streak a mile wide for Sam. No idea why, but he handles him so gently, like he's afraid he'll hurt him."

Kyle pushed away from the table and went to get the coffee pot. He refilled his cup and asked if anyone else wanted more. He refilled Zach's and Scott's mugs.

On his way back, Kyle said "So what do we do? I hate being in the dark. Sam might really need our help. I mean, can you imagine not knowing who you are? I wish Uncle Will would let us all know. I mean we are family. We wouldn't say anything to put Sam in jeopardy. Uncle Will should just bring him home to his house. That way, we could all help."

Adam, Jeff and Scott shared a look. The youngest cousin didn't have enough experience to realize just how dangerous it would be for Sam without memory or sight.

Scott started to tell his brother the reasons when Zach said "Kyle, stop and use your brain a moment. Don't be a daft idiot like I was."

Dawning registered in Kyle's eyes as he thought things through. "Ohh. I get it, Special Forces and the investigation. Crap, why do things like this always happen to Sam? I mean come on. Enough is enough. Hasn't he suffered enough protecting this country?" He got up and paced angrily.

Scott rose and stopped his brother, "Kyle, anger is not going to help Sam. I'll try to contact Uncle Will. If I can't, maybe one of our dads can. Adam and Jeff can talk to their dads and I'll talk to ours. Let's see if there is anything useful we can do. If it is best that it stay blacked out, then it is best. We've been trained from the cradle to handle this type of stuff. Right bro?"

He gave Kyle a meaningful look then pulled his little brother into a hug. He knew Sam was Kyle's favorite and he looked up to him the most. It had been written on his face from a very young age. There was a fifteen year gap in his and Kyle's age and only seven between Kyle and Sam.

Quietly he whispered to Kyle, so the cousins could not overhear, "Bro, I know Sam is still your superman. Have faith he will recover. You've seen first-hand how determined he is."

Kyle was shocked at Scott's choice of words. He whispered back "You know?"

"Yeah, I've always known. It's okay with me. Truth tell, I feel a bit of the same way. There's just something about him isn't there?" Scott whispered back.

Kyle looked into his brother's eyes. The same eyes they all shared. Scott just became equal to Sam in his eyes. He loved his brother so much. Scott had known and he never let it influence how he treated him.

Jeff and Adam watched the private conversation between brothers. Family was good, family was strong. They would all be there when and if Sam needed them. Until then they would do whatever was necessary to keep him safe, even if that meant not knowing anything.

A loud snore broke up Kyle and Scott and all four looked to Zach. He had fallen asleep in the chair. They all chuckled softly, not wanting to wake him.

"Hey Scott, can I drop him in your spare room? Bit late to cart him back to base" Adam asked.

Scott said "Up to Kyle, he's staying with me for the next two days. Okay with me, if he is okay with the couch."

Kyle said it was fine with him and Adam and Jeff picked Zach up and carried him to the bedroom.

After putting Zach to bed and closing the door as they left the bedroom, Jeff said to Adam "Did you know Zach talked to the SF recruiter?"

Adam shook his head no.

Jeff shared "I saw him on base as I was drilling my latest group on the obstacle course. Saw him go into the recruiting office. When I was done, I went in and asked Larry what Zach wanted and he told me Zach was interested in SF."

"Christ, I don't know. Can we handle another SF badass in this family?" Adam laughed.

Thinking about his brother, Adam realized that Zach had the skills necessary. Part of him was proud Zach would want to go that route. Part of him was concerned for his brother. He would hate for things that happened to Sam to also happen to his little brother. But Adam would support Zach, no matter his decision.

Adam and Jeff said goodbye to Scott and Kyle and headed back to their places.

Kyle headed for the couch. He lay there concentrating on the months they had helped Sam recuperate. Scott was right. Sam was too damned tenacious not to recover. Kyle just hoped it didn't take too long.


	29. Just Gone, Sting, Going Home & Hot Call

**Just Gone, Sting, Going Home & Hot Call**

* * *

 ** _Twenty-five Days After Rescue – Yellow Knife Safe House_** ** _–_** ** _1100 (11:00 am)_**

"Where the hell is he?" Mike bellowed at Craig.

Mike clenched his fists as he fought not to throttle Craig who was in charge of keeping an eye Sam. Mike was woken from sleep by Craig's call of alarm that Sam was missing five minutes ago. He had rechecked inside and outside the cabin with Craig while the others checked in four directions outside.

Craig was panicked inside but appeared calm and collected outwardly. He had just gone to the bathroom and when he returned Sam was gone. Just gone. He did not want to be the one to tell the General he had lost his son. He would take responsibility, he was on watch when it happened and it was his responsibility. That had been over ten minutes ago now.

He answered Mike's repeated question with the same answer for the third time "I don't know. He just disappeared."

The hard look Mike gave Craig would cause a lesser man to quiver but Craig held his ground.

Mike bellowed again "Why the hell don't you know?"

Sam was turning out to be a pain in the ass to watch the past few days. This was not the first time he had gone missing but it was the longest time. Sam was found in some strange places and he had no recollection of how he ended up there. They all knew to keep a closer eye on him. At least he thought he made that abundantly clear. Craig was in deep shit right now.

"I just left the monitors for a moment. Had to use the bathroom. Sam was relaxing on the couch when I went in. When I came out a few minutes later he was gone. When I called for him and got no answer I checked the monitors first. Then inside the cabin, I checked in, under and on top of everything. Then just outside in the tree we found him two days ago. Hell I even checked the roof of the cabin where we found him yesterday. He was just gone. Then I woke you and alerted the guys" Craig reported.

Jack came running from the west after doing an extensive perimeter check in that direction "Not on the west."

Drake reported in from the north "Didn't go north either."

"South clear too" Mason called out.

"Where the fuck did he go? Not east either. Let's check the tapes" Winds roared as he joined the others.

They converged in the monitor room with Mike and Craig. Craig rolled the tapes back again and said "I check already nothing. See it shows him come into the room and sit on the couch. Sam switched up what he was holding in his hand; see him reach into the box. Then he headed out the front down the path he has taken every day for the past three days. Then he is out of range and disappears. Based on the timestamps I was in the bathroom when he walked out and disappeared down the path."

"I checked the damned path. He was not on the fucking path at all. Did he deliberately leave the path?" Jack said frustration coloring his terse words.

Winds' hand went to his sidearm as his gut wrenched at the word deliberately with a horrible potential "Jack check the weapons. Make sure every single one is accounted for."

Jack was slow to move.

"NOW! Dammit" Winds bellowed.

Mason looked at Winds following his line of thought. Skepticism filled his voice "He wouldn't. He dealt with Matt already. No."

Suspicion and concern laced Drake's words "I don't know. He's not sleeping, refuses the sedative every night. We've all seen the wild mood swings. We all hear the screams in the night. Hell he won't even explain why he was on the damned roof yesterday. The way his eyes were glassed over I thought for sure he was gonna jump; scared the crap out of me again. He's utterly exhausted and needs sleep. His head's not clear. He could be suicidal."

Mason considered Drake's words then something clicked. Shaking his head vigorously Mason said confidently "No. No he's not suicidal."

Looking directly at Winds, Mason continued assertively "Winds this more like when Blondie was with other units and he came back to us almost dead from exhaustion. Remember the lack of concentration from sleep deprivation. Recall how we would find him in the strangest places and he often couldn't tell us how he ended up there. The glassy, lost eyes as his mind wandered. We are not dealing with any foul play or deliberate act. I'm ninety-nine percent sure this is like then, even the roof makes sense now when I apply that."

Several deep breathes in and out to calm down then Winds responded "You are right Mason. Damn we should have seen this sooner. We have the experience with him in this state. The roof definitely fits, so does the damned tree. Blondie always liked to be high like in a sniper perch and have the wind in his face; always soothed him."

Winds continued his thinking out loud "Even under the desk and the top shelf in the pantry fits. All the tight safe nooks and crannies he would hide in when he was all alone and had to protect himself."

"So he's out there, he must've lost concentration and deviated from the path. When concentration reasserts itself he'll still be in trouble. Although he's good at tracking, his limited vision right now would make it very difficult for him to recalibrate and find his way back to the path."

Mike pulled out a map "We need to do a grid search then. Let's start where we last see him on the tapes. It's been fifteen minutes since he left the view so based on that, this would be the max radius he could have gone assuming walking."

The men were mapping out the search parameters when Jack came back and informed them all weapons were accounted for. Everyone breathed a small sigh of relief on the off chance that was the reason he was gone. Then they refocused on the map. Each assigned their section they headed out.

* * *

 ** _Somewhere Near_** **_Yellow Knife Safe House_** ** _–_** ** _1100 (11:00 am)_**

Lying face down on the ground his first thought before moving an inch or opening his eyes was to do a physical check. Taking stock he determined ribs fine, ankle fine, head hurts a bit. He also registered that his sunglasses were missing.

Sam rolled over and sat up keeping his eyes closed for the moment.

His next automatic thought was location check. No idea. Crap, crap, crap. Where the hell am I?

Think Braddock Think. What's the last thing you remember? His eyes still closed he concentrated hard trying to recall. Walking. No not walking, falling. Yes falling.

Sam searched around for the sunglasses. Not finding them he ventured to open his eyes slowly to judge the light. Pitch black. No not pitch black. He tilted his head up. A circle of light way above him.

He was in a hole. A deep hole. How? Running backwards in his mind. Here, falling, walking, tripping, trail, porch, bike key, couch, bad mood. He sighed. Crap.

Running forward he reviewed in detail the chain of events.

He was in a bad mood. Feeling cooped up like a prisoner and ticked off because he couldn't connect the few things he had remembered and no new memories had surfaced in days. He was exhausted. He knew he was having trouble concentrating because he was so tired.

All of that contributed to his sour mood. He had sat on the couch stewing. He opened the box and took out the bike key. He felt a rush of freedom holding it and the need to be outside overwhelmed him.

It was the first new feeling in days so he had to follow it. Outside, wind on his face equaled freedom, he had to go outside.

Obeying orders set out by Mike and Winds he ventured towards the only path he was allowed since the lake incident. Onto the porch, down the steps and to the trail he had memorized walking with Mason. He knew he was not allowed to go far, only three hundred paces down the trail and back was his limit. Any more than that he was out of camera range.

Part of him knew the guys were sick of looking for him lately. It was not like he was trying to be difficult. So he tried to respect the outside boundary he was given.

But as he walked the bike key he held stirred a deep sense of freedom. With that feeling came an image of a mountain bike along with the name Adam and the words red trail. Red trail brought with it a sense of overcoming a challenge. He became solely focused on the new feeling, images and thoughts.

Then he was drawn into a carnal feeling as an image of a secluded spot in a wooded area along with the sable brown eyes he associated with Jules jumped into his head. A third feeling quickly joined the other two. It was a strong sense of brotherhood of family coupled with a sense of being pushed beyond his limits but never allowed to fall as five sets of blue eyes that were almost identical flashed in his mind.

Lost in thought, rotating between the freedom, the sensual and the brotherhood feelings he continued to walk forgetting to monitor his paces or direction until he tripped. Awakened from his daze he stood up and was disoriented as to where he was. He checked the position of the sun trying to determine the appropriate direction of the path and cabin. He took nine steps in the direction he thought was right and the ground gave way beneath his feet.

Rubbing the slight bump on his head Sam wondered just how long he was out. The small bump on his head, the source of the pain, was not a big deal just an annoyance mostly. Sam stood up and felt around the area checking for a hand hold he could use to climb out of the hole.

The sides were too smooth. He sat down and listened. They never let him out of their sight. Someone would be looking for him soon. He should have thought of that before he took the nine steps. Then he wouldn't be in this damned hole.

Pissed at his lack of appropriate judgement he leaned back on the wall of the cave, shaft, hole, whatever the hell it was he was in. They are going to be completely ticked off at him. He'd be lucky to even be allowed on the porch now. Mike might even lock him in his room like he had threatened after finding him on the roof yesterday. Not that he couldn't pick the lock and get out.

Wow another new gut feeling. He just knew he knew how to pick locks. He was really good at it too. That thought brought him back to the feelings the key had brought forth.

The key, where was the key?

He got on his knees and search the area. His hand found the small metal key. Sitting back against the wall he sighed. He let his hands relax on the ground next to him. He just needed to wait and listen for the guys. They would come soon.

Until then he focused on the key and the images and feeling it had conjured. Several things clicked. Mountain biking. He loved riding on trails, he felt free riding. It was a way to slow down and remember that people are generally nice. At work, it's all zero to sixty, it's all madness and bad guys and go, go, go, hair on fire.

Sam was sure there were trails near where he lived. Wind in his face calmed him. He rode trails with whoever Adam was. Wait wasn't Adam one of the names of his cousins? Zach had named them in order several times to him in the hospital.

Focusing on that conversation he recalled what Zach had told him. There was Scott his eldest male cousin he was in the Navy. Then came Adam, he was Air Force and Zach's brother. Jeff who was a Special Forces Army drill sergeant was next. He was next in line. Zach was younger than him and in the Air Force like his brother Adam. Last was Kyle, Scott's brother and also in the Navy.

Family. Brotherhood. They were all military.

A deep sense of belonging washed over him. He couldn't place it but something told him that these five cousins had done something extraordinary for him. That they had worked hard to help him accomplish something others thought was impossible. That he owed them more than he could ever repay. That they would always be there for him.

The eyes. They all had the same blue eyes. Sam smiled. He may be in a hole but some new things were coming. It wasn't all bad.

That thought made him retrace his previous thoughts that he rode a bike to remember people are generally nice and work was all zero to sixty, all go, go, go. That didn't feel military. Was that SRU related?

Sam stopped a moment and blew out a frustrated breath.

Connecting the dots was so tough. These bits and pieces were so fragmented. Those words felt like they came from and actual conversation. But with who? No matter how hard he thought about it the answer just would not pop into his head.

Sam felt the tickle of a small spider as it crawled onto the back of his hand. He laughed out loud as several partial but very real memories crashed into his head at once. A face, clear as day with wide eyed horror as it screamed like a little girl and a spider the size of a dime crawled over a hand. The name Spike connected instantly with the image.

My god, he remembered bits and pieces of Spike.

The dark haired man from the scaring memory he had on the plane. The one with sad but innocent eyes. He knew, he remembered they were friends, very, very good friends.

Spike was like a brother. They fought over the cookies. It was his sombrero. They both lost their best friend in horrific ways. It was a tie that bound them. The spider charm was Spike's. Spike was scared of spiders. God, it felt good to remember someone alive even if it was just bits and pieces.

He reached down and captured the spider then said "Thank you my little friend. You will never be the size of a goliath bird eating spider unless you meet Spike." He moved to the other side and released the tiny spider. He heard his name being called.

Standing up Sam yelled happily "Here, I'm down here. Fell into a wonderful spider hole."

Above Winds heard Blondie's call. Why the hell did he sound so happy to be in a freaking hole? He feared for his sanity; Blondie called it a wonderful spider hole. Did his mind finally snap? He yelled for the others then flattened himself on the ground and called down "Blondie, you okay? Hurt in anyway?"

"Nothing but a small bump. Lost my sunglasses though. Might be up there. Walls to smooth to climb" Sam informed Winds.

Mason and Mike were the first to arrive and Winds said "We need rappelling gear. Walls are to smooth for him to climb out."

Mike called out to Craig to get the gear. Sam was not really all that far off the trail only a twelve steps or so but he had taken one wrong step. Within minutes Sam had been pulled up from the hole. Jack had found his sunglasses and given them to him too.

"You are not leaving …" Mike started to scold Sam.

Sam interrupted him with a huge grin "I remembered Spike. My friend Spike. He's afraid of spiders."

He related what he remembered. None of them had the heart to yell at him seeing how happy he was with his memory. As they walked back to the cabin they pelted him with questions about Spike. The more he talked about Spike the more tidbits he recalled about him. Spike loved tech, bombs. Spike was a computer whiz. Spike was always trying to pull pranks.

While the others were preparing lunch Drake checked him over. Drake was a little worried about another hit on the head. But mostly worried at the lack of sleep and concentration, especially after what Winds and Mason shared with them.

Probing the tended spot on Sam's head Drake started with "Small bump didn't even break the skin. But is there any change in your vision? Better or worse?"

Still in a good mood Sam replied "No change. Same level of sensitivity, same blurriness. But at least it's not worse."

Examining his pupils making sure they were equal to rule out another concussion Drake looked closely at the dark circles under Sam's eyes. He saw the deep fatigue written in his face. The man really needed some rest.

Drake stated "Good, that's good. Pupils are equal, so no concussion. But Sam, you really need rest. I know you have refused every time but a sedative after lunch would help you get some sleep. The exhaustion is messing with your ability to think clearly, causing your mood swings and putting you at risk."

Sam couldn't stand being sedated, losing hours and days and feeling vulnerable. He instantly became irritated and angry. His good mood flew out the window. Sam felt weak asking for help sleeping, he could get through this. He could gain control of the nightmares, in time.

But Sam's subconscious mind was on a different wave length. It knew he needed help now. The choice needed to be removed. If it was his choice he would say no as he had for the past three days. But if the choice was out of his hands he would have to comply.

His subconscious mind made Sam ask "Is that an order?"

Drake sighed "You know I can't order you to take it. Besides you out rank me."

Mike had overheard the conversation and remembered the coffee incident. Something in the way Sam asked made him wonder. Sam knew he could not be ordered to take any medication and that Drake was a lower rank. But ...

So Mike walked over and said firmly "Master Corporal Braddock, although I cannot order you to take a sedative I can order you to take care of your physical needs. That is your duty as a soldier. Therefore, I am ordering you to do whatever is necessary to get sleep before you kill yourself due to lack of concentration. If you refuse I will lock you in your room, cuffed to the bed if necessary."

Part of Mike cringed putting it so harshly but he would follow through if Sam didn't make the right decision right now.

Following an order he didn't really want to was preferable to feeling weak by asking for help. Mike had given him what he needed by ordering him "Sir. I will comply. I'll agree to the sedative."

Mason and Winds observed the entire exchange. Mason leaned over to Winds and whispered "The kid needs rest. For once I'm truly glad he always follows orders."

Winds whispered back "Me too."

* * *

 ** _Royal York Hotel in Toronto_** ** _–_** ** _9:20 pm_**

Dominique Savoy was just finishing and late dinner. He had things to do tonight in preparation for tomorrow. He also needed to call Will. Taking his last bite he dialed.

 _["Braddock" the General said groggily trying to check the time on the alarm clock on the night stand.]_

"Bonne soirée mon ami."  
(Good evening my friend) Dom stated.

 _["Dom do you know what time it is in London?" William replied sitting up in bed. Christ 2:20 am.]_

"Es tut mir leid, mein Freund. Erste Chance bekam ich zu rufen. Müssen Sie ein wenig zu so meine einzige Möglichkeit den Kopf aus. Ich habe Neuigkeiten zu teilen."  
(I'm so sorry my friend. First chance I got to call. Need to head out in a bit too so my only opportunity. I've news to share) Dom stated in German.

 _["Let's just do English tonight unless it is imperative to speak roundabout. I'm a bit wiped out. Have an early flight to catch in the morning too" Braddock requested.]_

"Sure my friend. Those conferences can be a draining dealing with all the prima donnas and pompous asses. Are you returning to Ottawa?" Dom asked.

 _["Yes and no" Braddock answered.]_

Dom realized the destination was not to be shared. "Good. Good. I needed to let you know a few things. I've establish a cover she grabbed at immediately. I have identified her network, very small; will send you the details soon on that. She is linked mostly to white collar crime. But she has also been using her position as a member of the Commons to direct key contracts to specific businesses" Dom stretched out on the couch.

"Her MO is to seduce married men in prominent positions in a variety of industries. Then she blackmails them into passing insider information which she uses to profit from personally in the financial markets. She has ruined the careers of several men that did not cave to her blackmail and tried to go public. Anonymous tips leaked to the press accusing them of insider trading and other crimes. They were crucified by the press and public opinion even though charges against them had no basis and did not stick."

"As you said there are not public paper trails leading back to her. I can see why you needed to go this route my friend. You are not her typical target; just an opportunity that knocked on her door. Typically the men she goes after are insecure and easy targets. But all have some position of power."

Taking a sip of wine Dom continued "Occasionally she will make her targets funnel business to one of her network. Again it is to her profit. She takes a huge cut of the gross amount of the deal, not the profit, but the actual gross amount right off the top for arranging the deal. So essentially she is blackmailing even those in her small network. You may be able to turn one or two to provide additional evidence."

"Additionally when she uses her position to award government contracts to a specific business she receives a nearly sixty percent payout of the award contract. The contract is so padded that the business still makes a profit after her cut. Therefore she is stealing from the citizen of your fine country. She is contemptible. I also located her secret accounts in the Caymans. We can freeze them anytime you deem appropriate."

 _["That was fast even or you Dom. Getting better in your old age" Braddock responded impressed.]_

Dom smiled "That's not all. Tonight I rig the location we are going to meet tomorrow night. I will be able to provide you video and sound recordings when she blackmails me. She always does that surreptitiously in a public place. I'm posing as Jean-Luc Thibodeau the Chief Financial Officer of a fictitious small company called Jetson Flight Systems. I set it up so she thinks the company has a radical new product that will change the industry. Led her to believe there is an undisclosed merger in the works with the major military supplier Cogsworth Aerodynamics. She would be able to make a killing in the market with the right information."

 _["How the hell did you get all of this information so quickly and arrange a sting like that?" William asked.]_

Laughing Dom said "Trade secrets my friend."

 _[Braddock snorted "You mean you hacked into her systems and plied her with wine."]_

Still laughing Savoy responded "You know me so well my friend. She's a light weight with alcohol, well at least alcohol laced with a sedative. And stupidly confident thinking that she was in total control, to the extent she took me to her actual house. Encryption on her laptop was like child's play to crack as was her safe. Her home security system was easy to breach as well."

"Good news is she arrogant enough to keep a personal paper trail. She likes to keep track of her conquests so to speak. She has a one page document on each target with loads of information on the target as well as what she obtained from them. I copied all those and will be in the information I send you. Based on what I found, I let her seduce me and compromise me over the past few days. Been quite interesting, she has some peculiar tastes in bedroom play. It is how she blackmailed many of the men."

 _[Laughing in response the General said "You have skills, so many skills. But I will never understand you Dom. You have such a different view of sex and marriage. Not sure how Jeannette put up with you."]_

"Ah sweet Jeannette. Well see we did have a very open marriage; worked for both of us given our chosen professions. But alas mon amour Jeannette is gone and no worries there now" Dom said with a soft edge of grief.

 _[Upset at himself for reminding his friend of his loss Braddock said "I'm very sorry Dom. I didn't think before speaking. Must be more tired than I thought. Please forgive me."_

 _He had also forgotten that Jeannette was MI-5 a long time ago and the two often had to seduce or be seduced in their missions. She had given it up when the Anna-Marie was born but she understood and accepted what was required for her husband's job.]_

Dom cleared his throat and in his normal voice said "C'est la vie. There is nothing to forgive my friend. Back to our purpose shall we. Tomorrow night we are having dinner at Chez Larousse in Toronto. If all goes as planned she will attempt to blackmail me into giving her the information. We will have her then."

"You will be able to hand the information off to whomever to bring her down legally. But remember my other offer still stands. She has harmed many, many people. There are two sets of young children that will grow up without their father's due to her machinations. One is in prison for fifteen years and the other committed suicide."

 _["Dom, you know I have to go the legal route regardless of how I may feel personally. No other way for me. Once she is out of the way I may be able to convince whoever replaces her on the committee to convert Samuel's reactivation to a special assignment. It gives me hope he will have his life back. Thank you. I owe you more than I can ever repay my friend" William stated. Dom had worked fast, very fast.]_

"My friend, please keep in mind, I still owe you more. Without you, my lovely daughters would not be alive today. I know you said he is not doing well, I will not ask you for details. I just hope he is doing better. I know he means as much to you as Nikki and Anna mean to me. I need to be going now. The restaurant is closed and I should be able to slip in and set things up. I'll contact you tomorrow when all is done" Dom responded. They said goodbye and hung up.

Dominique rose and dressed in all black. He checked his pack to ensure all needed items were included. He had cased Chez Larousse and deemed it the perfect location.

He could tap into their existing camera feeds. All he needed to do was reposition a few cameras towards the table he had reserved and wire the place to capture the sound. All very junior level SAS jobs but of all these were his favorite things to do.

* * *

 ** _Twenty-six Days After Rescue – London Airbase_** ** _–_** ** _1100 (11:00 am)_**

"Sir. The plane is delayed by another thirty minutes. They promise the mechanical issue will be resolve by then, the part has finally arrived" Hal stated.

He watched as the General paced. He had become increasingly agitated the last few days as the conference drug on double than expected. Then when they arrived five hours ago to leave at 0600 the plane had an issue and his frustration and anger levels increased even more with this further delay. Hal was just happy the part arrived now and they would be able to leave soon. In about eight hours they would be in Ottawa.

General Braddock acknowledged Hal "Thanks."

William stopped his pacing and took a seat. He was still very tired with only a few hours of sleep. He was so on edge last night with all the details Dom shared he did not return to sleep and now he was wired on caffeine. Sometimes he didn't think he would even know how to operate without coffee in his system.

Turning to one of his security detail William asked "Pawn, can you round up another cup of coffee for me?"

Pawn nodded and hurried to execute the request. It had been very interesting getting to work for the General. He loved watching all the political interplay at the conference too. The General was damned good at it; he could see how he made it to the rank of General. He could see a strong similarity between father and son. Although there were also some significant differences.

The General rolled his head around his neck trying to alleviate the tension. He was glad to finally be heading back home. The damned conference lasted seven additional days. Successful outcomes but it still bothered him to be away from Samuel at this time. It would be two weeks since he last saw Samuel sleeping peacefully on the private jet. He had refrained from calling. He knew if anything changed for better or worse Mike would have called.

But he was chomping at the bit to get home and then to Yellow Knife. But part of him was worried. If Samuel had not regained either, perhaps he should arrange for him to see a specialist. Not much to choose from in Yellow Knife. On the tarmac that day Winds had said the doctor had suggested a Dr. Blue for Samuel's eyes. He made a tough decision weighing both risks and needs.

In this case, the need outweighed the risk. He could do things to mitigate the risks. There had been no direct threat and it was less likely in country than in Afghanistan. The MP checked out and it was just idle gossip made to his one friend. He was ordered not to speak to anyone else about it. His CO had said his men had been embarrassed to find out they had been guarding an empty room for three full days unaware the patient and visitors had left. Pulling out his phone he dialed.

 _["Galloway."]_

"Mike. What is his status?" he asked. Then he said "Sorry Mike forgot the time difference. Hope I didn't wake you."

 _["No Sir. I have the night shift tonight, 0400 here. His status is light sensitivity down significantly. Vision still blurred. Memory coming in bits and pieces but it is not really connecting solidly."_

 _"His first real memory was Matt. That was hard to watch. Mason and Winds handled it. Thankfully he came to terms with it again. He remembered one of his SRU mates, Spike too."_

 _"Injury wise he's doing better. Drake says then ankle is mending fine. Ribs are knitting together too from last x-rays. But his mood lately had been up and down" Mike related not sure how much to reveal._

 _He didn't want to worry the General when he was too far away to do anything about it.]_

Listening to the report the General was glad there was some good news. But there was not enough good news. He said "I need you to arrange to bring him to Ottawa by tonight night. I will be contacting a specialist for his eyes and want to get him in tomorrow. Any issues with moving?"

 _["No problem Sir. Final destination and any specific arrival time?" Mike asked. He refrained from yelling thank god the kid needs help.]_

William raked his hand through his hair as he directed "I think it best if you come in very late at night covertly. Bring him home. I have another unit with me. They will sweep and set up surveillance and a perimeter before you arrive. Hal's unit will also define the route and recon the specialist's location. Let Winds know the unit is led by Hal. He knows how to contact him if you need anything special arranged. Any questions?"

 _[Since they were taking him home today and the General would be there he made the decision to tell all. "Sir, not a question so much as a suggestion. Since we are bringing him home it might be good to engage Dr. Tansy again" Mike said.]_

Concern rippled through the General "Why?"

 _["He needs some help sorting things out. The few memories he has are disconnected. But mostly he needs help with the constant nightmares. Nothing has calmed the nightmares. He sleeps little unless Drake sedates him. He is sedated now, has been since yesterday afternoon."_

 _"After the events in the last few days though I had to essentially order him to agree. I hated to do that but Sir he was becoming a danger to himself due to sleep deprivation. Drake actually wants to keep him out all today too. Sir he really needs the rest. Do I have your permission to do so?" Mike explained his concerns.]_

Keeping himself under tight emotional rein after that news the General concisely said "Permission granted."

They hung up. Nightmares. Dammit. It tormented the General to hear the nightmares were constant and Samuel was not sleeping to the point of potentially harming himself.

God dammit why did his son have to suffer so much? His rage and stress level that had been growing since Samuel reactivated climaxed. General Braddock did something he hadn't done in a very, very long time. He lost total control and smashed his fists several times into the metal wall separating sections of the plane as he let out a roar. The release of pent up anger at the whole damned situation felt good. He continued to smash his fists.

Hal, Russ, Daniel and Pawn watched as the General pounded out his frustrations. Hal took the coffee from Pawn and told him "Get the med kit."

Then Hal told Russ and Daniel to guard the entries and allow no one to board yet. Hal was glad that only the four of them were on the plane to witness the meltdown of a father in pain. Others would be boarding soon so he walked up to the General and said loudly and firmly "Sir. Sir. You need to stop. That won't help your son."

The General stopped and looked at Hal. Hal simply handed him the coffee. Braddock sat down dazed, stunned at his loss of control in front of subordinates.

Pawn came over with the kit "Sir. Can I check your hands?"

William held them out for inspection.

As Pawn tended them and applied bandages to several of the larger cuts he stated "Good nothing broken Sir. Just battered pretty badly."

When Pawn was done Hal sent him to tell the Russ and Daniel to direct all others to the rear section and if anyone asked to tell them that the General was engaged in a conference and required the front section for the duration of the flight. Hal wanted to give the General some space and quiet to recompose.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Home – 1500 (3:00 pm)_**

Thanks to Hal he had actually slept on the flight home, he got six straight hours. It helped re-center him. The privacy had been much appreciated. Striding into the kitchen William called out "Hello darling." He tried to make his voice light.

Yvonne looked up from the laptop she was working on. "Will! You're home. I didn't hear you come in. Are you okay?" Yvonne said with a mixture of excitement and worry as see saw the lines of fatigue etched in her husband's face.

She was always so perceptive it was hard to hide his fatigue from her. He leaned down and kissed her gently then responded "I'm okay sweetheart. I'm just glad to finally be home."

"I'm glad you're home. I've missed you. I bet you are happy the conference is finally over" she sighed.

"Yes very much, lasted much longer than expected." He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge then sat down. "Sweetheart I need you to arrange some things for me. We will have an extra compliment of security beginning later tonight. Can you ensure the security house gets prepped for an additional four and in the main house we prepare for two?" he asked.

Yvonne was curious now. She had been asked to do this for various reasons over the years so it could be anything. "Sure not a problem. Why the extra security?"

Stalling a moment because he didn't want to give her the bad news related to Samuel he said "I'll get to that in a moment. I also need you to prepare for a Braddock invasion. My brothers and likely most of the Braddock boys will be arriving in two days' time if I can arrange things as I wish."

Yvonne laughed at the term Braddock invasion, it did seem like that when all the men showed up at once "I can do that too. Please tell me why."

He loved her laugh. He hated that the next would quash it. William said "I'm bringing our boy home tonight. I need to prepare you."

Yvonne sucked in a breath at the tone in his voice and the wretched look on his face "Will just tell me. Whatever it is I can handle it because he is coming home. Unless?" She thought, oh my god he said brining home he didn't say alive.

Seeing the panic in her eyes and hearing the quiver of her voice he kicked his tired mind for his choice of words. He reached out and held her hand. "No. no. no. Alive sweetheart. Very much alive. It's just his injuries. For now you cannot tell a single soul he is coming. None of the family, no friends, no one at all."

Yvonne looked at him worry pasted heavily on her face "Why?"

Shifting his chair closer knowing what would come next he said softly "Samuel's injuries put him at risk. That is the reason for extra security. He had two very bad concussions only a few weeks apart in addition to some blunt trauma to the head. As a result he has lost his memory and his eyesight is impaired. The doctor does not think it is permanent but he cannot promise it will all return either. But Samuel is also having severe nightmares. They have him sedated for his safety at the moment."

Steeling herself for speaking she said "I see. Okay. So he…" she could hold up the pretense and broke down crying.

William wrapped Yvonne in his arms and held her while she cried. He spoke softly trying to comfort her as best he could for the next fifteen minutes.

When she finally pulled herself together somewhat Yvonne asked "Do you think I should I make up his room or the one he convalesced in last time?"

"I think given the vision challenges the main floor might be the better choice" he said as he reached out and wiped the tears from Yvonne's cheek. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. I wish I could have told you sooner. I wish you could have been with him sooner. We will do everything in our power to help him heal."

Yvonne gave him a small smile "I know. Our boy is strong. I have faith."

Gaining strength as the initial shock wore off Yvonne noticed the state of her husband's hands. The last time they were in that condition was when Sam was tortured for three months. Her heart broke for what William had to endure and keep to himself. She knew he needed support too.

Yvonne said compassionately "Dearest, I'm sorry you had to bear this burden alone for so long."

She reached out and hugged him. They drew strength from each other for a few more moments. Kissing him and then pulling back she said with poise "Okay, I have work to do. Are you planning to be here for dinner or do you need to go into the office?"

The General smiled at the self-possession and gracefulness of his wife. She would have everything arranged and sorted out in no time. "I'll be in my study. I have a few calls to make."

They headed in different directions to make arrangements to care for their son.

When he got to his study he called both Dr. Blue and Dr. Tansy and arranged appointments. He decided to make them for one day later than he had originally planned. He would have Drake keep Samuel sedated another full day. His son needed the reprieve from nightmares.

Taking a deep breath he then placed a call to his first brother then proceeded to conference in the other two.

As each brother hung up they all had very similar thoughts. William gave them scant details but all would honor his request to be there in two days and to see if they could arrange for their sons to join them. Not a word was shared that it was related to Samuel but they all knew it was. William, Yvonne and Sam needed their help. They would be there.

* * *

 ** _Yellow Knife Airport_** ** _–_** ** _1630 (4:30 pm)_**

Mason gently laid Blondie on the jet bed and strapped him in. Winds boarded carrying several bags followed by the others. "You guys got everything or do you need me to make a trip too?" Mason asked.

"No. We got it all" Winds replied and took a seat.

Jack climbed in the cockpit next to Mike "Sweet ride Mike. How'd you swing this? The plane Craig and I flew here in was a bucket of bolts. Thought it would fall apart mid-flight."

Laughing Drake said "Don't bother asking he won't tell. Bugged him a few times about it. Lips are sealed. Thinking he has some hot rich chick on the side. Oh and don't threaten to call him Magic Mike unless you have a death wish." He quickly headed back to do a check on Sam at Mike's death glare.

Drake was glad the General had given permission to keep him sedated. Blood pressure, pulse and heart rate were all good. He checked the IV location. Dammit infiltrated. "Hey Mike, do I have time to change the IV location before we take off. Damn thing infiltrated."

"Yeah I still have some pre-flight checks. You got about ten minutes. If you need more than that we need a new medic. And might just need to get a new one anyways. Ours might just disappear out of the plane at 51,000 feet without a chute if he doesn't stop with the Magic crap" Mike stressed.

Drake laughed and set to work quickly changing the IV location. Sam was gonna be pissed when he woke up and found he had an IV. But with him out for more than twenty-four hours Drake had to make sure to keep him hydrated. He checked the straps again then took his seat and buckled up.

Winds was fiddling with his watch resetting the time as he said seriously "I'm glad the General is bringing him home. It might just help his memory to be in someplace familiar. Also damned glad he is arranging for him to visit the eye specialist. I hope there is something they can do."

Mason nodded as he buckled up for take-off "Me too. Even though the location is not a safe house it might actual be more secure for him too. Less likely to get lost or fall in a mining shaft if he wanders away. I'm sure the Braddock clan will be converging too. Maybe they will even allow the SRU team to visit."

Then something occurred to Mason and he stopped talking. He looked back at Blondie and then back to the guys. A bit of panic entered his voice "Crap, did one of you get the duck? I forgot to grab it when I carried him from the cabin."

Craig held out the small duck "Found it when I did the final sweep. I also grabbed the sombrero that was sitting on the porch too."

He was glad he had found these items. It made him feel a little better; he felt so bad losing Sam on his watch. Craig was thankful that his inattention hadn't resulted in Sam being hurt or killed.

Winds patted Craig's shoulder. They all had tried to sooth Craig's guilt but nothing had worked. It could have happened to anyone of them. And in fact it did. They had to remind him over and over of all the weird places they found Sam in those few days. "Thanks man. I'm glad you found it. That is so important to him."

Mason stood and took the duck from Craig "Thanks buddy."

Then walked to Blondie. Mason placed it in his hand and whispered "Taking you home now Blondie."

* * *

 ** _Royal York Hotel Room_** ** _– 1850_** ** _(6:50 pm)_**

Dom was running late now. He was already supposed to be there waiting for her. Damned hotel laundry was an hour late returning his suit. He had called her apologizing profusely and begging her to wait per his weak insecure persona. He then called the restaurant and asked them to bring her a small glass of wine and an appetizer. He needed her sober tonight. He needed this last piece of evidence to seal her fate.

Tying his laces he stood and checked his image in the mirror. Perfect. He attached the pin camera camouflaged as jewelry to his lapel. It was his secondary feed in case the primary failed. He inserted his microscopic ear piece. It allowed him to validate that he was capturing the audio feed. He double checked his laptop to ensure the feed was coming in. Good both visual and audio working. Perfect.

He stared at the woman a moment. She was dressed in a pale green dress. Her mousy brown hair was cut short. It was a rather unflattering cut. He wondered if the stylist had lied to her telling it was a good cut for her facial shape. Then he thought this bitch is going down tonight.

Dom watched and listened as the manager came up to her and relayed Dom's apology with the glass of wine. She was a consummate actress. He heard her sugary words but he could recognize the anger that flashed momentarily in her eyes. She was pissed he was late. He needed to determine a strategy for that on the way. Her anger could be very useful when manipulated the right way.

As he strode from the room he thought William and his son would have their evidence tonight and their justice soon.

* * *

 ** _SRU Briefing Room_** ** _–_** ** _7:00 pm_**

Greg was tapping his pen on the desk looking over his notes from the last call. They had finished debriefing a while ago and everyone had taken a dinner break. He rubbed his eyes then sat back in the chair. Debriefing had highlighted some areas that Mike needed to work on in his eyes.

Mike was fitting in nicely on a personal level. But he was too hesitant and waited for direction rather than taking initiative when it was vital. He should talk to Ed about his concerns so they could address them in training. The past two weeks they had been on night shift. They had two more weeks of night shift before them rotated back to day shift. It was a good thing they were on nights; nights were slower and afforded more time for training.

If Ed returned before the rest of the team he would talk to him. Get his impressions first before offering his. He didn't want to cloud Ed's impressions with his own. Then they could determine how to proceed.

Ed rounded the corner and said "Greg, any warrant calls tonight? If not I'd like to drill the team in the CQB. It's been a slow two weeks with very tame calls. Need to get a better feel of team dynamics and how each works with Mike."

Looking up from his notes Greg said "No warrant calls and that would be good."

There it was Ed was concerned, referring to team dynamics indicated he had concerns. Let's ease into this and see what his concerns lay. "Been nice being able to break Mike in slowly. Unlike Sam. Man his first day and we get that hospital call."

Chuckling Ed "Yeah, but both have their first day coffee memory though." Ed sat down and the two reminisced on how Ed had sent Sam out for coffee that first call.

Ed then said "I miss him. I wish we had word on how Samo is doing. We all understand the risk but it would be nice to know. Greg, he is one hard man to replace. Didn't realize exactly how much I'd come to rely on him. Keep looking to Mike for the same things and it's just not there."

Greg sat forward naturally mirroring Ed's posture "What is it you are looking for that is not there?"

Looking at Greg he saw reflected that Greg had concerns too. Greg wouldn't share his until he shared his not wanting to influence one way or another.

He answered "I don't know it's just a feeling. It's probably just I'm comparing him to Sam's standards. Not really fair given Sam's level of training and experience. I'm just not comfortable yet."

Shifting his position, Ed leaned back and continued "We haven't had any real tough calls yet. So it could just be he is untested in the field. Seems a bit hesitant, needs more direction than Sam did. Or more than I remember Sam needing. It was no cake walk with Sam. But most of that was the way we treated him at first. I just don't think he …"

Ed was about to say more but stopped when Wordy and Mike entered talking about the challenges of raising little girls. Mike was impressed how Wordy immersed himself in things the girls were interested in. He had trouble doing that, loved the girls but there was no way he could do some of the things Wordy did for his daughters.

Actually Mike thought he was pulling his leg "Wordy, come on you didn't actually let them paint your nails sparkly pink and purple? No way in hell a guy would do that."

Jules and Spike were right behind them and overheard. They burst out laughing.

Spike grinned broadly and said "Absolutely did. I have the evidence. Was so damned funny. He forgot and came to work with it on. We waited until end of shift to tell him. He couldn't figure out why the uniform officers kept giving him odd looks at scenes that day. Got some pictures. Wanna see?"

Wordy tried to grab the phone "You said you deleted those Spike."

Spike raced around to the other side of the table avoiding Wordy. "Yeah, well. I lied" he said snickering. "It was too funny to get rid of completely."

Wordy tried to get the phone again.

Greg was smiling and said "Settle down boys. Spike, delete them now. We all agreed."

"K Boss, but you sure? Could be useful in the future" Spike said as he plopped in a chair.

Mike looked over his shoulder and smiled as he saw the pictures while Spike deleted them. That man sure went to great lengths for his girls. Maybe he should be more open to the girly stuff.

Greg noticed that Ed was still pensive. Ed had tried to answer his question before the others arrived. They would talk later privately for now it could wait.

Getting their attention Greg said "Okay boys and girls, no warrant calls. Ed has decided to drill the team in the CQB tonight. Let's go."

Groans were heard from most.

The team was just getting up from their chairs as the claxon alarms sounded.

Winnie called out "Team One Hot Call. Armed man holding a woman at gunpoint at Chez Larousse Restaurant."

The team moved to gear up.

Spike nudged Jules and smiled "Saved by the bell."

Jules grinned back at him as they entered the armory "Why are you so happy, it's not a bomb call."

Spike answered as he donned his vest and attached his headset "It's been boring lately. I really want to test out a new method for tapping into cameras that I have been playing with."

"Winnie any other details?" Greg said adjusting his headset then moving to get his sidearm.


	30. Chez Larousse Hot Call & Heaven In A Cup

**Chez Larousse Hot Call & Heaven In A Cup**

* * *

 ** _Twenty-six Days After Rescue – Outside Chez Larousse Restaurant_** ** _–_** ** _7:05 pm_**

What the hell is going on? Dom stopped near a group of people on the opposite side of the street to Chez Larousse. He saw the manager and approached her "What is going on in there?"

The manager turned and saw a fine-looking Frenchman in his mid-fifties wearing an expensive Italian suit. His accent was smooth. She would love to hear him speak French so she answered in French hoping he would respond in his language " _Un des membres de mon personnel est devenu fou et a sorti une arme sur un patron."_  
(One of my staff went nuts and pulled a gun on a patron.)

Dom smiled at the manager. French it was then _"Comme c'est terrible. Savez-vous qui est en danger ? Tout le monde est en sécurité?"_  
(How terrible. Do you know who is in jeopardy? Is everyone else safe?) Dom asked surreptitiously looking around for a pale green dress in the crowd.

She was right his voice was velvety and seductive. Ahhhh Frenchman, she always had a thing for them.

 _"_ _Oui tout le monde mais les deux sont sortis. M. Allard est devenu très en colère quand il est venu pour le quart ce soir et a vu la femme dans la robe verte attendant son parti pour arriver . Je l'espère , la police peut la sauver , elle était si agréable pour moi quand je remis un verre de vin à elle. Celui qui elle a été réunion était en retard et était très attentionné commander du vin et un apéritif pour elle alors qu'elle attendait."_  
(Yes everyone but the two are out. Mr. Allard became very angry when he came in for shift tonight and saw the woman in the green dress waiting for her party to arrive. I hope the police can save her she was so pleasant to me when I delivered a glass of wine to her. Whoever she was meeting was running late and was so thoughtful to order wine and an appetizer for her while she waited.)

"Merci. J'espère aussi."  
(Thank you. I hope so too.) Dom moved off apart from the group. The manager watched him a moment then returned her gaze to the restaurant.

This could not be happening Dom thought. We were so close. He pulled out his phone and was about to reconnect the audio feed to listen in but decided to call William first, he needed to know all their plans were now on hold. If this situation resolved and she made it out they would need to reset. When the call was answered Dom said "My friend we have a problem."

* * *

 ** _On Scene Chez Larousse Restaurant_** ** _–_** **_7:10 pm_**

Winnie answered Greg's question as the team was enroute to Chez Larousse "Officers on scene said that the customers that got out said the man was screaming at the woman saying she ruined his life. The manager of the restaurant said the man is one of her waiters named Gilbert Allard. She also indicated all the other customers and staff got out. It is only Mr. Allard and the woman in the restaurant now."

Opening his laptop in the passenger side of the command truck Spike said "Winnie, do we have a name for the woman?"

"Sorry not yet Spike" Winnie replied.

"It's okay I'll start with Allard, see what I can find" he responded. He looked up at Mike who was driving "Welcome to you first hostage situation Mike."

Mike shifted on the seat "Been waiting for some real action. Is it always this slow in between calls?"

Jules piped in through the headset "Nah, just been a really slow two weeks."

Mike gave Spike a slightly startled look. He had been expecting a response from Spike.

Spike chuckled realizing the rookie forgot everyone was tapped into the headsets. For some reason that was always one of the hardest things for rookies to grasp. He said "You get used to it in time."

As his fingers typed away a stray thought entered Spike's head. Sam had never had a problem with it, it came natural to him. God he missed Sam. But then he pulled his head back to his task.

Arriving on scene Greg went to confer with the on scene officers and Ed directed "Jules interview the customers and staff. Wordy need you to recon the restaurant, all exits. Spike truck, need blueprints and eyes and ears in."

He turned to Mike "Mike wanted to give you a bit more time to settle in but I need you as Sierra One." He started to move towards Greg.

Mike nodded "Uh Ed, where do you want me to position myself?"

Ed paused, damn he missed Sam. He scanned the area for a minute or so trying to determine which would be the best location. Damn he really missed Sam. Sam would already be in position and providing them information on what he saw. He indicated where Mike should go then headed to Greg. "What's the current situation Boss?"

"They've been in there for fifteen minutes now the officer says. Mr. Allard keeps raging at the woman. The officer said the manager said the woman looked very scared" Greg said.

Spike had quickly entered the command truck and eagerly tried out his new method of tapping into the cameras. As the feeds popped up on his screens he smiled and thought, sweet that worked great. Then he chimed in "Boss, tapped into the camera feed."

As Jules was heading towards the witnesses she commented "Nice. Spike that was fast even for you."

Jules smiled and thought Spike's good, damned good. She was happy but concerned about him at the same time. Today was the first time she'd seen him playful and laughing in several weeks, he was clearly missing Sam as they all were. Lately he was so dour and buried himself in his tech. So to see him excited and happy felt good.

Spike's enthusiastic voice called out "Thanks Jules. Hey guys there is a camera directed on the table she is at. How lucky can we get? Sorry no sound though. The woman is sitting at the table. Allard keeps pacing and appears to be yelling and keeps pointing then dropping the gun as he paces. He is extremely agitated. Established secure video link and sending to your PDAs. Still working on background info." Spike was exceeding happy with his new method it was fast and let him quickly direct a secure feed to the team.

As Spike tapped away using another new method, this one to speed up searching databases Spike's mind wandered a bit to Lou and Sam. It was because of them he had these new methods. He had buried himself in technology, spending all his off time devouring the newest information.

It helped him climb out of the deep hole he fell into with losing both Lou and Sam so close together. He missed them so much. Spike loaded another new program not expecting anything to come from it in this situation but just giving it a bit of a field test.

Wordy was around back of the restaurant. He noticed that the back door was ajar. Must have been when the staff left "Ed, the back door is open. I could sneak in maybe get a mic close enough so we can hear them."

"Good idea. Just go careful we don't want to spook him at the moment. Right now he seems intent on just yelling at her" Ed replied.

Wordy raced back to the SUVs and gathered the necessary items. As he headed back to the rear entrance he wondered why Mike had not reported in yet. Sam would have been in position and calling out status and providing them tactical information already. God he missed Sam.

As he knelt near the rear entrance to prepare the mic his mind wandered to the nail polish razzing from earlier. A smile crossed his lips. If the team only knew how tightly Allie had Sam wrapped around her little fingers. Images of the night he and Shel had come home from a date when Sam had watched the girls for them popped into his head.

Shel ruined it. He was fully prepared to let Sam leave without mentioning it. It would have been hilarious and he wouldn't be the only one razzed about it at work anymore. But no Shel was too nice. As Sam was at the front door about to leave Shel had to ask Sam if he wanted nail polish remover and to remove the ribbons from his hair. The slight embarrassed blush that crept onto Sam's face was priceless.

Sam explained he had let Allie play beauty shop as they all watched Beauty and the Beast. He let Allie tie dozens of colorful ribbons in his hair and every single finger and toe nail was a different color, pink, purple, sparkle glitter, green, blue, yellow, etc. He laughed out loud as he recalled Sam came in the next shift with a close military hair cut, too short for ribbon tying.

"Wordy everything okay man?" Ed called out in response to the laugh.

"Yeah, sorry just nothing a stray thought. Ready to head in. Based on the blueprints Spike sent I can get pretty close without being seen" Wordy responded. He moved in through the kitchen. He saw the staff had left in such a hurry that burners were left alight. He stopped to turn them off to reduce the fire hazard. Then crept forward and set the mic. Once back outside he said "Spike mic placed."

"Jules any useful information from the guests or staff?" Greg asked calmly needing information to determine a negotiation path with Allard.

Jules and gone through over ten guests and staff so far. Jules reported "Only that Allard has been working here for about two weeks. They said he seemed like a likable guy for the most part. But sometimes he became angry. No one has been able to identify the woman. Although a few said she looked very familiar. Like a celebrity or something. She arrived about twenty minutes ago and was sat at the table. The manager said she was awaiting another person but he had not arrived yet. The reservation was under the other person's name Thibodeau. But no first name."

Spike called out "Not much I can do with just a last name, sorry Boss."

Greg shifted and paced slightly. From the video feed he could see the woman. She did look familiar but he could not place her either. He was glad for the feed because Mike was not providing any information on what was happening in the restaurant. He shifted focus he needed to engage soon but needed information on the subject first if he could get it. He said "Spike, let's just focus on Allard for now. Do we have audio yet?"

"Copy, Boss. And no sorry for some reason there is interference with our audio feed almost like there is something jamming it. Working on it." Spike responded.

Ed was reviewing the blueprints determining their tactical entry plan when Wordy return. Ed realized he had not heard from Mike yet and it had been more than enough time to get into position. With slight frustration lacing his voice he called out "Mike are you in position yet? If so, please provide us with details. Part of the sniper's job."

Mike had settled into position several minutes ago. The look on Ed's face was not a happy one. Somehow he had screwed up by asking where to position himself. But Ed was TL, shouldn't he determine the location? Focusing on the room he scoped the subject.

He heard Ed's call just now. They had the camera feed. Wasn't he supposed to just focus on the subject and wait for the Scorpio command if it was needed? "Um sorry, been in position for a few. I'll remember to acknowledge in the future. I'm focused on the subject now. He is pacing back and forth. A bit hard to maintain a shot with as much as he is moving."

Ed called out "What else do you see from your position. It is a different angle than the camera."

The team worked on information from all sources. Ed was becoming frustrated with Mike, it was like pulling teeth. He would need to address this with Mike. Apparently he didn't quite get that Sierra One was a critical source of information.

As he waited for Mike to scan and respond Ed reminded himself, be patient, be fair, Mike is not Sam. That spring boarded another thought, Sierra One had only become a critical source of info after Sam joined them. Before that the sniper had only focused on the subject.

Sam's ability to quickly scan the entire area and provide details had changed how Team One used the sniper role. It was one of the reasons this team excelled. He relaxed a bit he needed to be a better mentor to Mike, he was only with the team for two weeks and this is his first time at Sierra One.

Mike shifted his scope to scan the entire room and he landed on the hostage. He should have scanned sooner. He could have provided the team with critical information a long time ago if he had.

Feeling embarrassed Mike said "Uh Sarge, I know who the hostage is. The boys had to do a report on Parliament last week. I saw her picture helping them with their research. The hostage is Katherine Hayes-Baxter. She is a member of the House of Commons representing the Toronto district."

Greg and Ed shared a look. This call just got more serious. Their actions would be scrutinized to the nth detail since it involved a Parliamentary member. "Eddie?" His one word was asking comfort level with Mike as Sierra One for this call. He got his answer quickly.

"Mike I'm coming to you. We will swap and you will assist Wordy covering the Boss if he goes in to negotiate." Ed said as he sprinted to the position he sent Mike to.

He hoped that Mike would see this for what it was. Mike was untested yet and they could not afford any mishaps or hesitations with a Member of Parliament was a hostage. If they did SIU would have their hides.

"Okay Ed" Mike responded confused and a bit miffed by the change.

"Boss, got background on Gilbert Allard. He was CFO for Surge Enterprises until recently. Seems he was dismissed for ethics and morality code violations a month ago. His wife Pauline filed for divorce and sole custody of their three children. There are news reports that indicate an investigation took place based on an anonymous tip but they were not able to substantiate the claims. But his employment contract with Surge Enterprises gave the company the right to fire him for perceived violations too. The company likes to keep a squeaky clean professional image and has zero tolerance for violations of those sorts" Spike reported.

Greg took off his hat and rubbed his head. "Good information. But Spike we could really use ears in there to understand why he is targeting the hostage. He is not picking up the restaurant phone. Any luck with the jamming issue?"

Jules was interviewing a woman when she saw a man standing off by himself to her left watching the scene intently. He had just hung up a phone and was now fiddling with it. Her instincts prickled.

"Thank you for your information" she concluded and moved away a bit to observe him unnoticed. Quietly she said "Boss, I have a person that seems too interested in what is going on inside."

Reaching Mike's position Ed called out "Jules, what makes you think that?"

"He's just ... I don't know. Seems different, doesn't fit. Call it intuition or something. Moving in a bit to see if I can get a better read" Jules replied.

Ed tapped Mike's shoulder and Mike moved. Ed quickly laid down and positioned himself. Adjusting the scope Ed said "Wordy backup Jules in case he is involved. Mike head to Greg."

Copy that was heard by both men.

Dom had just finished speaking with Will giving him the report. William had asked for a description of the SRU team. After giving it he was told that this was Sam's team. They were the best. Dom and the General decided that Dom would stand down and see how the scenario panned out.

He had seen Jules interviewing all the bystanders and asked Will how he wanted him to proceed if he was engaged. William directed him to provide information as he deemed necessary but to keep his name out of it. He trusted Dom to make the appropriate decision based on the situation. They quickly discussed potential outcomes and what to do in each case.

Dominique then turned on the audio to see if he could figure out why the man was confronting her. It clicked. The manager said the man's name was Allard. That name had been familiar. He was a recent target of hers. One that had refused her conditions; he had a spine after all. But he had paid dearly for refusing her.

Jules saw Wordy move in from the opposite direction in case he was a runner. She approached him slowly. "Sir, I'm Jules Callaghan with SRU. I was wondering if you might be able to provide me with any information. Can you tell me your name and if you were you in the restaurant?"

Dom had watched as the female SRU officer approached. The look in her eye said she had registered something about him that did not fit. She was wary of him. He would need to figure out what it was that made her suspicious. Normally everyone saw only what he wanted them to see.

She was different, she saw through him somehow. Nonchalantly he answered "My name is Dominique Savoy. No I was not in the restaurant yet. I arrived and it was already going on. I had planned on dinning there tonight. It seems to be quite a nasty problem in there."

Jules read the body language. He was telling the truth from what she could tell. With his upfront answer Jules was wondering why she had such a reaction, usually her gut was better. She said "Thank you Mr. Savoy" and started to move away as Wordy joined her.

Spike called out "Boss, I think I figured out the audio issue. This is strange. Hold on a second."

Jules and Wordy shared a look.

Spike came over the headsets "Um guys I'm picking up low frequency broadcasting and receiving. Someone is listening in to the conversation in the restaurant."

Greg said "Can you locate the receiving location?"

"Running that as we speak, wasn't expecting this new little program to yield anything tonight was just playing with it. Almost, almost, come on baby give me the details, just one more second, got it." Spike eagerly called out "The broadcast location is at the table the subject is at."

Then Spike's voice become a bit concerned "Um Jules, I think your gut was right. The receiving location is just behind you. Whoever he is, he is listening to whatever is being said in there."

Ed chimed in "Spike can you tap into the source? Wordy, Jules reengage the man."

"No been trying to do that since I found it. It has some way awesome deep encryption. Things I haven't seen before. Still working on it. I'll try but I don't know" Spike responded now sounding frustrated.

Jules turned around again all smiles "Mr. Savoy. Just one more question if you don't mind?" she said slowly allowing Wordy to reposition himself again.

Dom recognized the tactic. He was unsure why but they had identified him as a person of interest. Was he slipping in his old age? "Yes. What?"

Jules decided the direct approach "Can you tell us how you can hear what is happening in the restaurant?"

Damn they are good he thought instantly. The tech guy must have located his frequency. Based on how they decided he should go Dominique answered truthfully "I can. But not here. Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Wordy had slipped in close behind "Over here?" he indicated to Dom. "Boss brining you the receiving end."

Greg, Jules, Spike and Dom gathered in the command truck. "Mr. Savoy I'm Sergeant Greg Parker with SRU. Can you please explain who you are and why you are listening to the restaurant?"

"No I cannot tell you why at this time." The looks said that did not please them so Dom hurried on "But I can provide you the access code to listen in."

Dom quickly provided the code and Spike tapped away and conversation in the restaurant was heard on the headsets.

Greg said "Wiretapping is illegal. You will need to explain a bit or we will have to take you into custody. Do you know either party involved?"

"My name as I said is Dominique Savoy. I am a private investigator of sorts. I have the appropriate approvals for what I am doing here tonight. But I am not a liberty to disclose my assignment" Dom supplied basic information.

Ed cut into the conversation "Greg things are escalating. Allard's getting more agitated the gun is rising more often. If you're gonna talk we need to try now."

Getting the bullhorn Greg exited the truck and started to talk to the subject. Greg connected enough that the subject agreed to allow him to enter to talk. Wordy and Mike grabbed the shields to protect Greg as they entered. Jules and Spike were keeping watch on Dom in the truck. Spike was continuing to investigate Allard. Jules started pulling information on Katherine Hayes-Baxter. Both were feeding bits of information to Greg to help with his negotiations.

After an hour of talking Greg was making progress. Gilbert had deescalated and the gun waved around less and less. His voice had returned to a normal and non-frenzied tone.

Ed's headset started to cut out. He was only hearing every other word at most. Dammit what else could go wrong? Ed called out "Spike headset is dying. Need another one. Either you or Jules bring me a new one."

He waited for a response but didn't get one. The headset had died completely. Dammit. He couldn't leave. He was reaching for his phone to call Jules when things took a turn for the worse in the restaurant. Ed wondered what happened to cause it to re-escalate.

Greg was glad to see Gilbert calmer and he could begin to see that they may be able to end this with everyone safe. He said "So Gilbert I see you want to end this peacefully. That's good. If you just put down the gun we can all go home."

It was the wrong thing to say. Gilbert Allard re-escalated quickly yelling "Home, home you say. I don't have a home anymore. This bitch ruined it for me." He wagged the gun towards the hostage.

In the truck Jules and Spike heard Dom say under his breath "Just shoot the bitch already."

Instantly tense they turned to him and Spike said incredulously "What did you say?"

Dom was sick of watching the bitch play the victim "I said he should just shoot the bitch. Everything he accused her of is dead to rights true. She is a lying, corrupt, soul sucking, bitch that preys on weak men for personal gain. I have the proof. Tonight I was to get the final piece of information but this guy comes along."

Greg was able to calm Gilbert down again. He had heard the exchange in the truck and chose a different path "Gilbert. What if you could prove your allegations would you put the gun down?"

Gilbert looked sadly at Greg. "But there is no trail to prove it. I've looked. For the last month I've devoted nearly every waking hour of my life to find something that will reveal this snake for who she really is. I cannot find anything. She needs to die before she can harm another family. My wife took my kids away from me because of things she said I did. I did none of what she said. I wouldn't give her the information she wanted. She needs to die before she strikes again. But if you can prove to me that you can prove my story I will put the gun down."

Greg only needed to say his name he would know what Greg needed. Softly he said "Spike?"

Spike responded "On it Boss."

Katherine Hayes-Baxter had been sitting here for so long. This weakling man turned out to have a bit of a spine. She had misjudged him. But she had put him in his place for refusing her. She was pissed that her meeting with Jean-Luc Thibodeau had been interrupted. If only he hadn't been late. She needed to get the information soon from Thibodeau or she would lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Jetson/Cogsworth deal.

She had no worries about the man in front of her killing her. He had not the guts to actually do it. So she sat here playacting the scared victim. She fully expected the SRU to shoot him soon. He was starting to wave the gun at her again. But then that Parker guy had asked if Allard would put down the gun if he could prove his allegations against her.

That finally worried her. She had been so careful. Could she have slipped up? No she was too good, there was never any record. Except her own and they were fully encrypted under many levels of protection. It was just a tactic they were using. Parker was lying to Allard, manipulating him so he would put the down the gun. But she slipped her hand into her purse in her lap nonetheless and wrapped her hand around the sole contents of the small purse.

"Mr. Savoy. Do you have the information that would help prove Allard story?" Jules and Spike asked simultaneously.

Dom smiled at how in synch this team was "Yes. Can I access one of your computers?" Spike set him up and Dom's fingers flew. Spike watched as the man went through ten levels of encryption in a flash. "I cannot give you the full file but tell me where to send the file on Allard." Spike provided the information and within seconds a one page information sheet popped up.

Quickly reading the page that popped up on his screen Spike's eyes got wide with surprise. "Whoa. Boss sending you a one page information sheet on Allard. If this is true then what he alleges is true." Spike looked at Dom. "Is this authentic?"

Sighing Dominique replied "Yes. It's a level of corruption I haven't seen in a while. My client who shall be unnamed engaged me to bring her to justice. After tonight my files are to be turned over to the Director of PPSC."

"Boss" Spike said.

Greg said softly "I heard Spike." Greg took a moment to review the file on his PDA.

Katherine watched as Parker reviewed something on his phone. Her finger flipped the safety off then wrapped around the trigger. She could plead that the stress of the situation finally got to her and she lost her mind she was so scared. Preparing for that alibi she rearranged her face to show terror, pretended to quiver and allowed tears to start falling.

Turning to Allard Greg said calmly "Gilbert I think you should really put the gun down. I have something important to share with you. If you put it down I will show you."

Gilbert took three steps toward Greg but had not lowered the weapon completely.

Ed tensed and called out "I have a solution."

He kept the gun trained on Gilbert but could see the hostage too. Dammit they can't hear me he realized. Why the hell was Allard walking to Greg? Should he shoot now? He held. The gun was not directly pointed at Greg and was lowering slightly with each step.

Wordy was closest to the hostage and out of the corner of his eye he saw a movement under the table in her lap.

Gilbert started to lower the gun more as he continued to approach and was only a few steps from Greg. Ed relaxed slightly the gun was dropping. Greg had gotten through to the man somehow. He would have to ask later how. The man had been so intent for so long and his accusation against the scared hostage seemed outrageous.

Several things happened in rapid succession.

Hayes-Baxter pulled a gun from her purse and raised it at Gilbert.

Wordy yelled "Gun."

Hayes-Baxter fired at Gilbert.

Ed heard a gunshot. He saw Gilbert start to fall. Ed switched his aim to Hayes-Baxter.

Greg reached out to catch Gilbert.

Hayes-Baxter pointed her gun directly at Greg who was holding Gilbert as he fell.

Ed fired.

Hayes-Baxter dropped dead.

Dom smiled. The bitch was dead and the was problem solved.

* * *

 ** _Twenty-seven Days After Rescue – SRU Briefing Room_** ** _–_** ** _2:45 am_**

Greg was leaning back in his chair staring out the window thinking how strange tonight's call had become. The team was just now gathering back in the briefing. Each of them had been extensively interviewed individually by representatives of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC). Greg knew that the PPSC had federal jurisdiction to prosecute cases involving members of Parliament among other serious federal crimes such as organized crime, terrorism, tax law, money laundering and proceeds of crime, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The interviews were very long going over every detail of the call. SIU had no jurisdiction and did not even interview Ed afterwards. Shortly after the shot a team of twelve PPSC reps had converged on the scene and assumed control. Each team member was sequestered and they took Dominique Savoy in as well.

After they interviewed him Savoy had been very quietly ushered out of SRU headquarters by the PPSC. All records of their call had been confiscated by PPSC representatives as well. At the end of their interviews they were told that they were not allowed to talk about the incident under threat of prosecution.

Spike was the last of the team to enter. His interview had lasted the longest. He sat and his knee began to rapidly bounce up and down, a nervous habit "That was just strange. Wonder why it was all so hush, hush? I wonder who else was involved for them to swoop in like that. I mean they were there within minutes of the shot being taken."

Greg leaned forward and rubbed his head then looked pointedly at Spike and said "Spike, we were warned not to discuss the case. The PPSC made it very clear, did they not?"

Jules chimed in "But Boss, I mean the corruption must go pretty deep for PPSC to be involved. That Dominique guy, if that is even his real name was probably some covert ops guy by the way they ushered him out of here. My gut was right. There was something not quite right about him. He must have contacted someone before I interviewed him. I didn't see him contact anyone while he was in the truck."

"Guys stop" Greg snapped frustrated. Then more calmly he said "Sorry, let's take a bit of a break, we could all use it after that. Regroup here in thirty minutes." He didn't wait for a response as he rose and walked to the dispatch desk "Winnie, Team One is off calls for thirty minutes. Route them to Team Three or Four please." Winnie gave him a concerned smile and nodded.

Greg saw Ed head for the stairs to the roof and followed. He found Ed at the edge staring out at the city lights "Eddie, you okay?"

"Why'd she do it? She was safe. Gilbert had the gun down." Ed blew out a breath. The shot kept playing in his head. The terror and tears on her face. It was always tough to take the fatal shot. Even more so when you had to shoot the hostage.

Greg realized that Ed was not privy to the contents of the page and he knew his headset had cut out at some point. He was cut off from the team and could only observe. So with being sequestered right after, Ed only saw that he had neutralized a scared hostage. He would defy the PPSC order for Ed's sake.

He moved to the edge near Ed and said quietly "Eddie, you followed protocol. But I have to tell you something. I'm not supposed to talk but you need to know. You didn't shoot an innocent hostage. She was not a victim. She was the aggressor. She ruined that man's life. He was an innocent. Then she tried to kill him when he could prove it. Luckily she only hit him in the shoulder. The hospital said he would make it though."

Ed stared at Greg in disbelief "She was guilty of what he accused her of?"

Greg nodded yes.

Ed shook his head no. Greg nodded his yes again. Ed was having difficulty connecting the images of a terrified woman with the facts that she was not a victim. Well she was and wasn't. True Gilbert held her at gunpoint, but he felt driven to it by her actions against him.

He closed his eyes and focused on Gilbert's face. Ed saw the anguish written on it for the entire time he had watched. "Greg, it's hard sometimes. Especially when things get so twisted and the good guy is actually the bad guy and vice versus."

Ed blew out another breath then looked to Greg "So it was a good shoot? I didn't kill an innocent?"

Greg nodded yes "Eddie it was a good shoot. She is dead by her own choices. If she had not pulled a gun and shot Gilbert she would be alive. She would be facing prosecution for her crimes. From the little we got from Savoy during the call her crimes must have involved more than just Allard."

Patting Ed's back Greg said "Shall we head back in? It's a bit cold and windy out here."

Ed shook his head no "I'll be down in a bit. Just need to clear my head a bit first."

Greg nodded and left him alone on the roof.

Staring out at the city lights, Ed let the cool wind blow on his face. His mind wandered to many things before landing on a thought. This is where he would have found Sam tonight if Sam had been with the team and taken the shot.

He could see why Sam always came here after taking a fatal shot. It was quiet. You could think. You could sort it out and put it away. It was never easy to take a life. But maybe just maybe in taking her life tonight he had saved someone else's life.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Home_** ** _–_** ** _2200 (10:00 pm)_**

General Braddock stood in the doorway of Samuel's room. He looked so peaceful sleeping. It pained him to know Samuel was only sleeping due to sedation. But on the other hand he was glad they had it. He had seen first-hand the nightmares he suffered from. He shifted his gaze to Yvonne.

She looked so tired. Nothing he said got her to leave Samuel's side since Mason had carried him in and placed him in the bed last night. He checked his watch. Samuel had been here twenty-five hours. Yvonne had been in this room for the same amount of time. She needed rest.

He strode into the room and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. He said caringly "Sweetheart. It's time you rest. He is sedated. Samuel will not wake until tomorrow. You should sleep tonight so you are rested to help him tomorrow my dear."

Yvonne looked up to William "I can't. What if he awakens and needs something."

"Mason and Drake have watch tonight. Samuel is safe in their hands. They will not leave him alone. They have orders to wake us if anything changes" William said in the same soft voice. Placing his hand under her elbow he gently nudged her to stand "Come sweetheart. You need sleep."

Yvonne nodded agreement. She bent down and kissed Sammy's cheek. She lightly brushed his hair. "Sleep my boy. I will see you tomorrow."

She kissed his forehead and turned to leave the room with her husband. She saw Mason just outside the bedroom. She had never seen anyone so huge be so gentle. He was truly a gentle giant.

Yvonne reached out her hands and took one of Mason's huge ones. Hers was dwarfed by his. She smiled up at him "Thank you so much for taking care of Sammy. Please keep him safe tonight. If he wakes for any reason please wake me."

Mason nodded "It's been my honor to care for him Ma'am. I will keep him safe for you. I promise you will be awakened if Blondie wakes."

The General nodded to Mason and led Yvonne upstairs.

Mason entered the room and sat in the comfortable oversized chair near the bed. He thought that woman was a marvel and so kind. Last night she had seen him sitting in the tiny hard chair as he watched over Blondie.

He had been so uncomfortable in it he chose to sit on the floor. Winds had relieved him for a meal break. When he returned this chair was in place of the tiny chair. That lady was so compassionate and so thoughtful. He was glad the General had finally talked her into getting some rest. Mason hated seeing her so distraught at her son's state of health.

Drake walked into the room "Brought you a coffee."

Mason reached for it and said thanks.

Drake set his own coffee on the nightstand. "I'll give him one more dose in an hour. That should be enough to take him through the night and allow him to wake in time to get ready for his appointments."

Mason nodded "Sounds good. After you give him the dose why don't you remove the IV? That way he doesn't have to deal with it when he wakes in the morning."

Drake agreed and sat down in the second comfortable chair in the room and pulled out a book on military strategy he had borrowed from the Braddock's extensive library. He had been surprised to see so many books in over a dozen languages. There was a fairly large section in Latin, probably explained how Sam knew the language.

* * *

 ** _Twenty-eight Days After Rescue – General Braddock's Home – Sam's Room_** ** _–_** ** _0810 (8:10 am)_**

Towel drying his hair he thought that it seemed to be a bit too long. Hanging up the towel on the bathroom rack then turning to the sink he rubbed his hand across a full beard. As he brushed his teeth he thought he should ask one of the guys to help him shave. He could try himself but it would be a disaster waiting to happen.

As he walked into the bedroom to dress he recalled waking this morning. Instantly he had known he was no longer at the cabin. The bed was different. The scents were different. No fresh pine. Here smelled of vanilla and cinnamon, all warm and inviting. It felt so familiar; it was nice, comforting and safe.

Then a soft, kind, feminine voice said good morning to him and it was followed by a kiss on the cheek. She introduced herself. It was his mother.

Sam wished so badly he could see her face clearly. He wished even more he could remember her. As he had struggled to remember her she had shushed him and told him everything would be okay. He had cried and she had held him. Sam felt loved, comforted, assured and secure in her tender embrace.

After a bit he had calmed and she had told him he was home. That he was going to visit some doctors today. She helped him understand the layout of the house with a short guided tour. Then she took him back to his room. She pointed out the set of clean clothes and told him to shower then to come to the breakfast room.

Before leaving him to shower she had kissed him again and caressed his face. She told him she was glad he was home and the he would recover here. Confidently she stated that she had faith he would regain his memory and eyesight.

Pulling on his jeans he heard a knock on the bedroom door. Quickly zipping and buttoning them he called out "Decent, enter."

Winds entered the room "Morning Blondie. How you feeling?"

Sam was feeling rested and in an uplifted mood from his time with this mom so quipped with a grin on his face "Like I've been forcefully sedated for two or three days."

"Sorry about that. I know you hate it but it was in your best interest." Winds said happily seeing the sense of humor and smile returned and the dark circles mostly faded away.

"I hate to ask but would you be willing to help me shave? This thing is so damned itchy. Wouldn't ask but not too fond of slicing my throat wide open trying to shave myself" Sam said as he finished tying his shoes. It felt nice to wear something other than boots. The brace made the shoe a little snug but that was okay.

"Actually came prepared for just that purpose. Mrs. Braddock said you would probably want to shave." Winds smiled, she knew him well. "When we're done the General and Mrs. Braddock will be waiting in the breakfast room for you."

Sam nodded and they moved to the adjoining bathroom to shave.

* * *

 _ **General Braddock's Home – Breakfast Room**_ _ **–**_ ** _0840 (8:40 am)_**

Walking to the breakfast room he only ran into one low table and the ottoman. But he found the room. This was a huge home, it could house an entire army Sam thought. As he entered the breakfast room he smelled something mouthwatering and he smelled coffee.

Oh how he wanted coffee. He had resigned himself to the fact that no one would give him any until he could prove he could sleep on his own.

His mother's voice appeared close to him "My you look so much more refreshed all showered and shaven. Come the table is over here. This is your normal seat." She said guiding him to a seat.

"Thanks. It did feel good to shower and shave. What smells so good?" Sam asked

"Your favorite omelet. Sit I'll bring it out. Orange juice or apple juice?" Yvonne asked.

Sam wanted to say coffee but didn't "OJ will be fine. Thanks." He sat in the seat she indicated.

Yvonne brought in his plate of food and her own. Setting his in front of him she said "Your all-time favorite omelet. The one we concocted together the last time you recovered here. I made it extra-large since you haven't eaten in a few days. But if you want more there is plenty. I'd be happy to make you another one. Your father will be back in a few minutes. He had to take an important phone call."

Sam dug into the omelet. It tasted as good as it smelled. He was starved; he plowed through the omelet, the country potatoes, three pieces of toast, four pieces of bacon and two glasses of OJ. Sam chatted with his mother as they ate. She made him a second omelet and he had just finished it when he heard someone enter the room behind him.

"William. That took longer than you expected. Sam's finished his second helping. I'll just go prepare yours now. Sam would you like a third?" Yvonne said brightly.

He heard the brightness in her voice. He could tell that his appetite had pleased her. Sam smiled at her "No thank you. That was absolutely delicious. I'm so full I might burst at the seams."

Yvonne giggled lightly as she picked up Sam's empty plate and left the room.

Sam heard noises behind him that sounded like his father was pouring a cup of coffee. He almost groaned it smelled so good. He wanted one so badly. He knew the answer he would get so didn't bother to ask.

He heard his father approach and saw his fuzzy image as he sat right next to him. He heard two mugs set on the table. He recognized one was directly in front of him.

The aroma of coffee wafted up to him. He inhaled deeply. He wrapped his hands around the warm ceramic mug. Sam brought the mug to just under his nose and inhaled again.

Ahhh coffee, black gold Sam thought. He felt the moist steam rising from the mug. He inhaled deeply again, heaven in a cup.

He blew over the top of it to cool it slightly. Sam smiled in anticipation of his first sip.

As he took his first sip his father spoke "I've been waiting a long time to have morning coffee with you son."

The smooth, rich, bold flavor washed over his taste buds. The timber of the deep, caring voice filled his ears.

His brain exploded.

The mug dropped from his hand spilling into his lap.


	31. Memories, Mom's Water, Zach & Defiance

**Memories, Mom's Water, Zach & Defiance**

* * *

 ** _Twenty-eight Days After Rescue – General Braddock's Home_** ** _–_** ** _0905 (9:05 am)_**

As the coffee splashed in his lap Sam jumped backwards knocking over the chair and landing hard on his ass. He sat there dazed and utterly, completely, totally overwhelmed. Images, memories, thoughts, feeling, people, places, names, hurt, joy, sorrow, fear, love and so much more cascaded, burst, tumbled, invaded every sense of his being.

Everything that made him who he was tried to enter his mind at once and that hurt. It was like an elephant trying to squeeze through a straw.

It was too much at once to comprehend.

William was on his feet instantly as Samuel jumped back from the hot coffee splashing in his lap. He grabbed several cloth napkins from the table and was at his side within seconds of him landing on the ground. Samuel had not responded in any way to his yells asking if he was alright.

The General was dabbing at the area the hot coffee soaked. A deja vu image of the morning in the Royal York hotel invaded his mind but he was definitely not laughing this time.

His yells brought Yvonne and all the unit men racing to the breakfast room. General Braddock held up a hand indicating for everyone to stand back. Samuel's eyes were rapidly blinking. Then they rolled to the back of his head and he blacked out. William caught his son before his head hit the ground.

William lightly tapped Samuel's cheek "Samuel, come on son, wake up. Come on." After a few moments he saw Samuel's eyes begin to flutter. "That's right. It's okay. Wake up son. I've got you, it will be okay. Samuel open your eyes."

Sam's eyes flickered open. He was on the floor held in someone's arms. His ears registered the voice. Sam barely whispered "Dad?"

"Yes son" William responded softly.

Shakily and timorously Sam said "Dad. I remember. I remember everything."

Sam's body began to shake uncontrollably as he turned his face towards the blurred image of his dad "Help me."

General Braddock registered the fear and pain and embraced Samuel tightly as tears flooded both their eyes "I'm here Samuel. It'll be okay son. Breathe, just breathe."

With tears streaming from her eyes from a mix of joy that Sam's memory returned and sorrow he was so overwhelmed by them Yvonne came close. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the two most important men in her life.

As much as the unit men wanted to celebrate the return of his memory they could see how distraught it made him. Craig, Jack and Drake wondered why he was so distraught. Sam should be happy his memories came back. He would know all his family and friends now.

Winds, Mason and Mike knew exactly why he was distraught. Blondie had suffered more hardship and pain in six years than most people do in a lifetime. None of it was publicized because he was Special Forces JTF2.

But all three of them had been here the day he was awarded all the medals and citations that resulted from the full investigation of his service. And those were only related to things that could be acknowledged openly. There was so much more that could not.

Mason and Winds turned away and motioned the others to leave too as they left the room to give the Braddock family privacy.

* * *

 ** _Enroute to Dr. Blue_** ** _–_** ** _1430 (2:30 pm)_**

Sam was quiet and contemplative. He was ensconced in the rear seat of a blacked out SUV sitting between Mason and Winds. Mike was driving and Drake was in the front passenger seat. There was a lead vehicle with Hal and Jack. The following vehicle held Craig and Pawn. Daniel and Russ had left twenty minutes before them. Russ would be in a sniper position and Daniel would recon the building before they arrived. All the men were in civilian clothes but armed and he was wearing a vest under his shirt.

His dad was taking no chances and said it was for his safety. The General had planned to go as well but had to attend an important meeting last minute. Sam thought it was total overkill but kept quiet. Part of the reason he didn't say anything was he knew the General would not change his mind no matter what he said. But mostly the reason he said nothing was it took too much effort.

He was glad the guys were respecting his need for quiet right now. It was all still so overpowering. When it hit him it had been too much to process and he had blacked out.

His parents had held him a long time while on the floor of the breakfast room. It was all still too compressing. Some of the memories physically hurt; every memory and feeling was experienced like it was the first time. He felt fragile, very fragile for the first time in his life. Sam needed help to come to grips with so very much all at once.

The General had called Dr. Tansy while his mom took him to change his jeans and check for burns. The soft sobs of relief from his mom when she confirmed no serious burns had disconcerted him. He hated he was the source of her sadness.

The fact that when his mom took him to his dad's study and the man did not let go of him for nearly five minutes had affected him too. In some small way, Sam was glad he couldn't see their faces. It would have been hard to handle any more emotional input. The one thing that helped him get through the first hour was that he felt safe with them.

Dr. Tansy had come straight over. Dawn had been awesome. He spent nearly three hours alone with her in the library where they had always met the last time he recuperated at his parent's home. She understood him and how his mind worked.

So much had happened to him in such a short period of time and his life was totally tilted. He knew what happened to him had affected a LOT of people too. That only added to what he had to process. Dawn helped him outline some first steps.

One of the first things she suggested was to limit new experiences as he dealt with the past. She had recommended he stay with his parents a few weeks at least since he felt safe there. She agreed that seeing the eye specialist was a good thing. Dawn had told him that nearly eighty percent of what people process comes via the eyes. So the stress of not seeing was impacting his ability to cope effectively.

Dawn also knew he needed quiet to process things and instructed everyone to give him space, not to push and go at Sam's pace. He was extremely thankful for that. At his request his dad arranged for Dawn to come on a daily basis until Sam deemed he was okay.

He was given complete control over that aspect of his life. Not so much on anything else including his choice of drink. Drake still did not want him to have coffee or anything with caffeine until he was sleeping through the night.

To him that sounded like they were talking about an infant and it still pissed him off. It was coffee that brought back his memory after all. Well that or his dad's voice since they both occurred at the same time. But regardless.

Unfortunately the General agreed with Drake. So now he was relegated to water or juices. No coffee, no tea, no sodas. Water or juice only, that sucked.

They were all against him on this and it was so bad that his mom even made a big deal of him taking a travel mug with water on this trip to Dr. Blue. She insisted he had to stay hydrated because it was an hour ride both ways. For Christ sakes it was only a couple of hours, he could go without water for days and survive. He knew of thirteen times he did just exactly that.

But he had quickly acquiesced and thanked her knowing she was only worried about him and he did not want to cause her more hurt.

Shifting uncomfortably in the small space between Winds and Mason he switched the damned travel mug from one hand to the other. Mom would probably check to see if I actually drank the water Sam thought. So again only to make her happy Sam finally took a sip from his silver travel mug.

Sam nearly choked on it.

As he coughed repeatedly Mason quickly asked "Blondie you okay?"

Why do people ask you that and expect an answer when you are clearly coughing Sam thought. A few more coughs and he finally got out "M ok, just went down the wrong tube."

Mason patted his back a few times while a few more coughs slipped out.

Sam adjusted again and sat back. He took another sip of his water this time without coughing, it went down smoothly.

A small grin settled on his face. His mom was the all-time greatest mom in the world. He would have to figure out how to thank her properly for this smooth, rich, bold flavored iced 'water'.

Sam had a coffee ally.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Home_** ** _–_** ** _1500 (3:00 pm)_**

Eight Braddock males paced around in the large library. Not a single one could bear to sit. All had been on high alert since receiving the request to be here today. All had managed to swing leave knowing on a gut level this summons had to do with Sam. When they arrived they had been ushered into the library and told that the General and Mrs. Braddock would be with them shortly.

The double doors to the library opened and William and Yvonne entered. There was something about their demeanor that both encouraged and distressed each of them.

Yvonne was the first to speak "Gentlemen can you sit down please?" She headed to one of the ten chairs that had been arranged in a circle. When none of them complied she said pleasantly but firmly "I asked you all to sit. Did you not understand?"

They immediately sat realizing it had been a command not a suggestion. William paced a few moments then sat and looked at each man. "As you have no doubt surmised I asked you all here regarding Samuel."

He got nods indicating such.

Looking at Zach "And no doubt you have told what you know to your brother and cousins and they shared with your dads"

Zach blushed and started to stammer out "Sir. I, I…"

William waved him off "Zachary I knew the minute you returned that you would reveal the details. I am not mad. I actually counted on it. I wish only to thank you for all your care and support of Samuel while in Afghanistan. Yvonne and I truly and deeply appreciate all you did for him and that you were able to be there for him."

Yvonne got up and gave Zach a huge hug. "Thank you so much Zach." It was then that she saw the brace on Zach's wrist hidden under his jacket "Dear, how did you get that? You weren't injured helping Sam were you?"

Damn she noticed. Nothing ever got by Aunt Yvonne. Zach shook his head but did not answer. He was slightly embarrassed but more afraid to say how he had sprained his wrist.

Yvonne looked sharply at him.

Zach caved a bit but not all the way "Um it was just a small training accident yesterday Aunty."

Yvonne innocently asked "What kind of training accident?"

Zach's eyes diverted to Jeff pleading not to say anything yet. But it was too late Jeff and Adam snorted trying to hold back laughter. Jeff had told Adam the whole hilarious scenario only last night.

Ryan Braddock looked sternly at his son. He didn't know he had been injured. He asked "Zachary Ryan Braddock how did you injure yourself?"

Slight panic and embarrassment entered his eyes. All three names too. He was gonna be in deep shit if he did not answer. Zach stammered "Sir. um, I uh, I just took a bit of a fall in training. Nothing big."

Ryan turned his fatherly glare on Adam who was still snickering with Jeff "You seem to know something. Since Zachary is being cagey, tell me how your brother injured his arm."

Adam sobered at the glare that told him he'd be in big trouble if he didn't tell his dad. He sat straight up but was going to divert. He wasn't going to be the one to tell. "Sir. I think Jeff is the best one to answer that. He was there when it happened."

Jeff glared at both Zach and Adam with a look that said 'thanks for throwing me under the bus, you're gonna pay'. He straightened up to and said "Sir. What my baby cuz is too afraid to tell you is that he sprained his wrist training with me."

He let that sink in knowing the fathers and the rest of the cousins would get his meaning.

Ryan looked with astonishment at his youngest child. Why in the world would he be afraid to tell him that? Realization hit. Both pride and concern increased a hundred fold as he looked to his youngest "Zachary you joined Special Forces."

Every set of eyes bored into Zach. He was not sure how his dad and the other's would react. He had made the decision without consulting or telling any of the family. Jeff found out when Zach showed up in his latest group of training recruits three days ago. From the looks of it Jeff had told Adam. He knew he would have to tell the family at some point but had wanted to wait until he knew he had passed the initial phase of recruit training.

Zach swallowed hard then answered assertively "Yes Sir I did."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then the room erupted as every male Braddock congratulated him. Yvonne smiled reservedly proud of him but her heart broke for her sister-in-law Connie. All of them were at risk being in the military, but Special Forces was a much higher risk. She prayed Zach never endured the hardships and pain her son did.

When things finally settled back down William continued "Samuel is home now. He will be staying here. His memory came back this morning. But he is in a precarious state right now. He is currently enroute to consult with an eye specialist because his vision has yet to clear."

William then went on to fill them in on all the details of Samuel's health and how Dr. Tansy had suggested they approach it.

"So, my original plan in gathering you was to help provoke his memory recall. But he has regained it and Dr. Tansy believes that too much stimulus at this time would be bad. So I'm asking you all to be patient a while longer. In a few days or a week or so I'm sure he will be ready to interact with all of you. For now I need you to pick one representative that can stay" William concluded.

Four of five cousins immediately chimed in "Zach."

Zach looked at them stunned. Why would they choose him?

His brother Adam saw his questioning look "Don't be stupid, if you're gonna be SF you better start using your brain bro."

Zach still continued to stare perplexed.

Adam took pity "You were there for him already. He knows your voice. It will be less stimulus like the doctor ordered."

Jeff snorted then teased "And besides you clumsy oaf you're off duty and out of training for the next three weeks for your stupidity of falling off the climbing wall."

"I wasn't clumsy. Wilson fell and I was trying to catch him. It wasn't my fault Frankie let go of the belaying rope" Zach tried to defend himself.

He was interrupted as Jeff told the humiliating story. Which was followed by razzing from Adam, Scott and Kyle. But inwardly Zach could care less about the teasing. They had picked him to stay with Sam. That vote of confidence in him meant a lot.

* * *

 ** _Two Weeks Later – Outside SRU HQ_** ** _–_** ** _0900 (9:00 am)_**

Sam was sitting in a rental car just outside the SRU HQ. They had been there for several minutes as Sam prepared himself to go in. Unsure of the reactions he would get but still glad to be here. He turned towards Zach in the driver's seat. "Thanks cuz. I really appreciate all your help. You have skills that are going to serve you well in SF."

Zach smiled at him "It was damned fun. I'm learning so much from you. Makes missing out on this cycle of SF training totally worth it. Hell, I'll be better prepared when I go back. Jeff says I start with the next group in four weeks. Part of me still can't believe we succeeded. But it was mostly you. Still not quite sure how you did it all. It was your plan and you arranged everything."

Then Zach quieted and watched Sam closely. He could tell he wasn't quite ready to go in. Zach knew it was tough for Sam so he settled back to wait.

Adjusting the tinted glasses on his face Sam just smiled back at Zach. His mind wandered a bit thinking how they had come to be here today. He had been going stir crazy and felt smothered by all the security the General forced on him. The General had ordered that he could not leave until he had finished the vision therapy and his eye sight cleared.

That would be at least another four to six weeks by the doctor's estimation and that was only if all worked out. Thankfully, the light sensitivity was almost completely gone. They had started working on getting his eyes to focus again. He had a tiny bit of improvement which was encouraging the doctor told him.

Sam thought it could really suck when your father was also your Commanding Officer. He was going absolutely nuts with all the restrictions the General put on him. So for the first time in his life he was defying a direct order.

If they got caught there would be hell to pay. Zach was safe from any official reprimand not being in the same chain of command. Yet. Luckily, that transfer wouldn't happen until Zach successfully completed SF training. Otherwise he wouldn't have enlisted Zach's help today.

However, for his actions he might just earn himself a BCD for going against the General's direct order. But it would be worth it and he would take full responsibility. Consequences be damned. He NEEDED to see his SRU family. It had been too long. He needed to be near them even if only for a few hours.

They had not been allowed to come visit him and he was not allowed to call them due to all the damned security measures. It was total overkill in his mind. There was no direct threat against him and it felt more like and over-protective father than anything else. His dad meant well but Sam had to see them, all of them, but especially one.

Sam left that thought grabbing his silver travel mug and taking a sip of 'mom's water' he smiled again. Remembering Zach's last comment Sam grinned. Then he said to Zach "Well that's not quite true. We have my mom to thank for parts of this plan. She's the one that actually rented the plane and car and ran interference so we could slip out without Mason and Winds seeing us. Mom has skills I never knew she had."

Zach laughed remembering how Aunt Yvonne had asked for Winds and Mason's help a few hours ago. Those two were gonna be pissed at them. Opening the driver's door Zach asked "Ready to go in?"

Sam nodded and Zach came around to Sam's side of the car and offered his shoulder for Sam to place his hand on to guide him to the door.

As he placed his hand on Zach's shoulder Sam wished he could just walk in all by himself. He sighed disgusted at his inability but redirected his thoughts to a positive frame of mind. His vision was returning, just very slowly.

The tinted lenses he was wearing right now were part of what the doctor called neuro-optometric rehab. The doctor said he expected Sam would make a full recovery but that it would take some time. Waiting sucked.

* * *

 ** _SRU Briefing Room_** ** _–_** ** _0915 (9:15 am)_**

Ed had just finished reviewing the tactical plan for the warrant call on a major drug gang that would take place in three hours. It would involve Team One, Three and Five. All twenty one members of the teams had crowded into the briefing room and it was standing room only. Ed was looking at Greg when he finished "So, if there are no more questions we will reconvene in two hours."

Someone in the very back cleared his throat. The voice was a bit gruff "I have one."

The voice sounded familiar to Ed and he tried to see who it was but couldn't "Yes?"

Smiling, Sam said "Can I come?"

An excited voice squealed out loudly and people were shoved out of the way as Spike ran towards the back "SAMTASTIC your back. Buddy I missed you so much."

Everyone turned to see Sam standing next to a man that looked very similar to Sam. Sam was nearly bowled over as Spike launched himself at Sam. Mostly because he didn't see Spike jumping at him. Zach stabilized both of them preventing them from falling. There were multiple calls of glad to see you and handshakes and back pats.

The rest of Team One held back allowing the other teams that were closer to say hi first. As Ed, Greg and Wordy watched they could see that Sam would miss hands that were held out for shakes. They all shared a sad look. Sam's vision had not cleared. He was not back.

Jules smiled just hearing his voice and seeing him standing here felt so good. But she noticed the same thing they others did and she noted that his beautiful blue eyes were hidden from her view by tinted glasses. She wondered how much of his memory he had gotten back. It would have to be at least some if he was here.

When teams Three and Five finally filed out Sam moved forward into the room. Spike never moved far from him after he noticed Sam could not see properly. That hurt, that hurt a lot. But he was here, he was alive and he remembered. Spike could live with that and he could help Sam.

Ed, Greg then Wordy each pulled Sam into long tight hugs and exchanged heartfelt words that expressed how much they had missed him. They refrained from asking him about his eyes, for now at least. Seeing him was such a relief.

Leah patted his back briefly and welcomed Sam back. The image of how he looked on the ground after the bomb exploded on that hot summer day sent a chill down her back. She was glad to see him looking so well.

Mike stood back observing the man he replaced. He pushed down and chastised himself for an uncharitable thought that his job was still safe. He wouldn't wish injuries like that on anyone. He knew how important perfect eyesight was to a sniper.

Jules held out as long as she could. Tears were in her eyes as walked directly in front of Sam. She had to see his eyes. She reached up and removed the tinted glasses.

He squinted slightly as his eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lighting but they opened normally after a moment.

Her hand slowly and gently reached out for his face. She stroked her thumb just under one eye.

Sam inhaled deeply. It was a scent he craved. Her touch so gentle. A touch he needed.

His throat constricted. His eyes teared up. "Jules" he said a bit huskily.

Jules responded softly "Sam."

He opened his arms.

She stepped closer.

Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.

Jules wrapped her arms around him.

They held tightly to each other.

Greg, Ed, Spike, Leah and Wordy quickly adverted their gazes and busied themselves with something, anything trying not to see the true feelings these two had for one another. But they all knew. They had all known. Leah pulled on Mike's arm tugging him out of the room and to the armory leaving the core team alone.

Zach stood watching. He knew now why Sam had to come. He had known from before how important Sam was to them. But now it was different. He could see they were all so important to Sam too. Especially Jules. Those two only said each other's names but that one word held so much. He turned to look out the window. His cousin had it bad. He wondered how long it would be before Sam married her.

Their embrace was broken up by a loud angry bass voice that bellowed "Just what the hell do you think you are doing Blondie? The General is livid and is going to have your hide."

Sam pulled away from Jules. He turned to Mason and his calm words shocked every single person in the room to the core. "He can have it. He can give me a god damned BCD for disobeying his orders for all I care. I needed to be here. I needed to be where I belong."


	32. Argument, Bella & Reconciliation

**Argument, Bella & Reconciliation**

* * *

 _ **Four Weeks After Memory Returned – Sam's Apartment – Monday 5:00 pm**_

Dark, heavy clouds were rolling in and threatening rain tonight. Most would call it an awful, dreary day. Standing at his window staring out at nothing in particular Sam thought it was an absolutely glorious day. He was back in his own apartment as of today. Taking a long drink of his Timmy's iced capp he sighed, finally. He chuckled slightly. Drake was so teed off when he discovered he was drinking coffee last week.

Drake never figured out how he was getting it and he would never tell. He had relented slightly on his stance and said Sam could have decaf but Sam held his ground and said he's rather drink bilge water than decaf. Sam won that battle.

Mostly because he convinced them he was sleeping all night and the nightmares had abated. They had not but they didn't know that because he no longer cried out when he woke from them. He had also agreed to take naps during the day if he didn't get enough sleep at night. He took a few to maintain his pretense all was okay so he could get back to his own place quicker.

The loud crack of thunder and flash of lightening brought back the memory of the confrontation with his father when Mason brought him home from his little excursion to visit SRU. That had been ugly, very ugly. It was one memory Sam would gladly erase from his mind forever. Both had completely lost it as their tempers flared to heights never reached before.

Their shouting at each other had nearly blown the roof off the house. The General threatened to put him under house arrest, lock him in a room and cuff him if necessary if he tried leaving without his permission again. He had laughed in his dad's face and told him he would like to see him try and that he would go AWOL and disappear for good if he did.

The General had yelled at him to stop behaving like an undisciplined, recalcitrant, thankless child. He had retorted that if he didn't want him to behave as child not to treat him as one. Not to treat him like he was going to break and could not protect himself. The General had raged at him that he could not, in his current state, protect himself and that he was defenseless and vulnerable as a new born babe both physically and mentally .

A fury so intense burned through his veins. Two seconds later his dad was looking up at him flat on his back the wind knocked out of him from the throw to the ground. He was kneeling on his dad's chest with his fists poised to strike and yelling that if he had wanted to his dad would be dead already and he was damned well capable of defending himself. That it was his own god damned life and the choices were his to make not some over-bearing, controlling General.

Seconds later Mason, Winds, Mike and Russ had hauled him off his dad. Mike actually cuffed his hands behind his back. Mason held so tightly to his arms as he struggled to leave the house they bruised deeply. He was so out of control Drake was ready to inject him with a sedative but his mother stopped him.

Zach had been utterly stunned by the speed in which he had attacked and the fact that he had actually attacked his dad. Not a single one of the eight men in the room had expected that of him or saw it coming until he and his dad were on the ground.

Sam lightly banged his head on his window. God how he regretted with every fiber of his being throwing his dad to the ground. Thank god he hadn't actually hurt him when he lost it so completely. Luckily it only knocked the wind out and shocked him.

It was definitely one of the absolute worst moments in his life. On par with the day he killed Matt, the day Jules was shot and the day Sara was killed. It scared the hell out of him he had deliberately struck out like that at someone he cared about. That he attacked his own dad.

Until that day, that horrible moment, he didn't think the General knew just how effectively he had been trained to kill. A small recompense was that it had proven his point to some degree. That even though he was essentially blind he was still able to protect himself; thanks to Ripsaw's training. He thought briefly, rest in peace buddy.

Another boom of thunder and fissure of lighting brought him back to his original thought. That was beyond ugly, they both allowed emotion to overrule logic and stubbornly bash their hot heads. Yeah, they were more alike than either wished to admit.

The voice of reason that day had been his mother. She was able to get both to calm and consider each other's point of view. Once they took a five hour break from each other; mostly because his head was so fucked up that day. They had come together and negotiated a plan that nearly satisfied both. Both made many concessions; some large and some small.

He agreed to remain at their home for up to four weeks more depending on how his eyes progressed. But only on the condition that he was allowed to call his SRU team whenever he wanted. The General agreed but put in the stipulation it must be over a secure line. So Greg, Ed, Spike, Wordy and Jules were provided encrypted secure phones.

Sam also demanded the General cut back on the security. He wanted, no he needed, to sleep alone in his room without someone hovering and watching him constantly to see if he had a nightmare. The General agreed. But the General demanded that he still wear the vest whenever he had to go to appointments. He agreed.

The General conceded to release most of the protection detail so long as Sam agreed to not take off alone again. He had argued he wasn't alone but agreed grudgingly when got the concession from his father that the cousins could come whenever they wanted. Although it didn't seem like such a concession to his dad; he seemed almost relieved Sam had asked for that one.

In the end, they had both apologized and shook hands formally. His dad had then pulled him into a hug. When his father told him he forgave him and was proud of him it screwed with his head even more.

On one hand it felt so good to know that. But it also made him feel like shit for throwing his dad. Sadly, their relationship was now tense and awkward again, mostly due to his mental state.

Sam spent the whole next session with Dawn trying to come to terms with what he had done. Unfortunately, his own actions had proven his father's point. Mentally he was just hanging in there. He was faking it most times, trying to be and feel normal. He was so up and down and all over the place emotionally from one moment to the next as memories surfaced.

It was hard work to process them. Trying to feel or not feel something was so exhausting. Dawn was helping and he would like to think he was improving but he wasn't the best judge of himself lately. He was so tired and wanted so badly to just have his old life back.

So many nights he lay awake in bed wishing he could just roll back time and not reactivate. Then he could be with his SRU family again and all would be well with his world. But that was not reality and he needed to accept it. He looked at the sky again, the storm was almost here.

Sam was pulled out of his thoughts when Zach called out "Hey Sam, what do you want for dinner tonight Italian, Greek or Korean BBQ?"

Zach watched Sam at the window he was down again. Uncle Will had tasked him with watching his moods and reporting anything he deemed harmful to Dr. Tansy. Sam was so unpredictable and all over the place the last four weeks, it was disconcerting. The entire family was concerned and hoped getting him to his own place would help level him out.

"Whatever you feel like is okay with me." Sam walked to his black swivel chair and sat down as the sky opened up and torrential rain pelted the windows.

He swung back and forth slightly. At the mention of Korean BBQ the name Hee, Ran Long entered his mind and he swung himself completely around in the chair kid-like several times. He grinned remembering how much of a fool he made of himself that morning for Spike's sake. That was a good memory, file in keep.

"Hey Zach, second thought. How bout we do Korean BBQ unless you really don't want to go out in this? We could always just have a sandwich" Sam suggested.

Noting he was happy now he pulled the Korean BBQ takeout menu off the fridge then Zach said "Korean BBQ sounds good to me. This place has great Bulgogi and I don't mind a bit of rain." He asked Sam and Mason what they wanted then slipped out the door to run and get their dinner.

Sam leaned back and relaxed a little. It did feel better to be home. Maybe he could get his head on straight faster here. Letting him come home was one more concession the General agreed to as his eye sight had improved much quicker than the doctor had expected.

The lens therapy was working well. His concession was to agree that Mason and Zach would stay with him until it cleared completely. Well at least Mason, Zach would have to head out in a few weeks for training.

Mason had watched the down then up emotion. The kid could really use some time with his SRU mates. He was always more stable after a call from one of them. Especially Jules and Spike. Looking over the schedule of appointments that Blondie had over the next week Mason called out "Blondie, you want to go to the barn tomorrow? If so we can fit it in between Dr. Tansy and physical therapy. Say around two."

Sam swiveled around to look at Mason at the desk. He concentrated hard on Mason and brought him almost into focus. It was a full sized desk and chair but Mason still looked like he was sitting at a child sized desk.

He smiled and replied "Nah, forgot to tell you I invited them to drop by after shift tomorrow. They'll be here around eight pm if they're not held up in a call."

Mason looked at him and smiled "That's great. Are they all coming?"

"Spike, Jules, Ed, Wordy and Greg will be here for sure. Leah had a family commitment or something. Not sure about my replacement, his name is Mike, so you know" Sam replied.

From what Ed had told him, his replacement, actually his second replacement started off really rough. But once they mentored him he had become a solid member of the team. Sam was glad the guy was working out for the team. If he couldn't be there he was glad they had someone good watching their backs and protecting them.

He tried really hard not to think about it, it depressed him. Five years, no make that four years, seven months and five days was a long time to wait. He would serve his contract then he could return.

A minuscule part of him wished the General had given him a BCD for his recent actions. Attacking a General was definitely cause for a BCD. But the General refused to take any action against him claiming it was a family matter not a military matter. So now he would just have to wait and serve his entire contract.

His mind drifted to Jules as it often did since their embrace in the SRU briefing room. They talked every day, usually late at night when things overwhelmed him. It was hard processing everything still. But she was his rock, his lifeline. Jules always knew the right thing to say. She also knew when to say nothing at all and just be quietly on the line with him letting him know he wasn't alone.

Anticipation of seeing her tomorrow brought a smile to his face. God he had so wanted to hold her again for the past two weeks. Tomorrow if he concentrated hard enough he hoped to be able to bring her beautiful face into focus. God he wished he could see her tonight alone without the team around. They had to be so careful around the team, hide their true feelings.

Well at least he did. Even though they were technically best friends, colleagues, Sam held out hope for something more one day. He hoped that Jules felt the same way but ... Sam pushed that thought away. It would hurt too much to think that he would never have Jules. He just had to be patient and wait for the right time. Maybe with him in the Army it would be the right time.

His mind drifted to thoughts better left in the bedroom. Sam succumbed to the urgent need to see Jules tonight; he would ask Mason to take him to Jules place tonight after dinner. "Hey Mason, can you …"

But then uncertainty reentered his mind again. He was afraid to see her alone. They still hadn't talked about the future. Talking on the phone was one thing; they stayed to safe neutral topics or she helped him process his memories. But alone, without the team around and physically close would be another thing entirely. The kisses in the locker room that hot summer day; they meant more and hit a deeper level than either had expected.

"Yeah kid?" Mason replied grabbing a beer from the fridge.

Realizing he wasn't quite ready to have that conversation with Jules yet he finished "Uh can you grab me a beer too?"

He felt the coward. But his future was still so uncertain. He could not commit or ask her to commit to anything when he didn't know what his future held or if his vision would actually return completely. He shifted in his chair; damn his mind and body were on two completely different tracks in regard to Jules.

Mason handed him the beer. He thought Christ the emotions on Blondie's face in the last few moments; despair, longing, joy, need, then uncertainty. He wondered what it was that Blondie had really wanted. He heard the hesitation.

Wow Mason thought at the look of lust that just cross Blondie's face. Mason sat on the couch and watched as Blondie quickly padded into his bedroom leaving the untouched beer on the table. Smiling with a hint of laughter in his voice Mason asked "What cha doing Sunshine?"

Sam popped to the edge of his door with his shirt off and scowled at Mason "Just gonna grab a quick shower before dinner." Then he disappeared into his room.

Kicking back on the couch and propping up his feet on the table four thoughts rolled through Mason's mind.

Shock that Blondie had actually defied an order that day. He really never thought he could do that. A little pride that he did but more concern. It had scared the hell out of Winds and him when they discovered he was gone. Mrs. Braddock had relented quickly when she saw how distraught they all were. Dragging him back had not been what he wanted to do but he had orders.

Regret for the bruises that were still coloring Blondie's arms. He had no choice that was totally out of control. Christ he had the General on the floor in a flash. Then he tried to leave even while cuffed. Blondie was so intent on leaving that it took all his might to restrain him.

Concern for how hard Blondie was pushing himself to recover. The kid could deflect so damn well. But he could tell Blondie was lying about sleeping. Blondie didn't cry out at night any more but that didn't mean the nightmares had ended.

Mason knew Blondie's sole goal for the past two weeks was to get back home. But Blondie pushed too fast to recover and find normal. He hope Blondie did not crash. Maybe it would be better, easier for him here surrounded by his SRU team.

That brought him to his fourth thought, Amusement. Wow that last look before Blondie hurried off to his room. It was clearly evident he was thinking of Jules again. Mason laughed out loud. Sunshine definitely needed a cold shower.

Yeah it would be good for him to be here. Mason took a drink of his beer.

Zach walked in a bit later with their dinner and asked where Sam was.

Mason only said "Cold shower."

Zach laughed knowing exactly what Mason meant. Damn his cuz had it bad for Jules.

* * *

 ** _General Braddock's Study – Monday_** ** _–_** ** _2100 (9:00 pm)_**

Pouring the scotch General Braddock called over his shoulder "James would you prefer bourbon?"

"No, I'll just have the same as you and Tom" Commander-in-Chief Jerrell James McFergus responded.

William poured a third and brought the drinks around to his longtime friends. Sitting in the third chair placed around the small table William said "So James, what's the status of our project?"

Taking a sip James put his glass on the table "Since Hayes-Baxter's untimely demise I had to locate a replacement for her on the committee. Damned disgusting situation. The PPSC needed to keep it all hush, hush until the warrants for her cohorts were served."

"I'm happy that what she did is in the open now. Vindication for many of her victims. But I guess we'll never know who started the investigation. The PPSC was just happy to get the anonymous tip and all the files. Ah but I digress. The new committee member is Marbella Ridgewater."

Tom Sutton laughed out loud "James, you got to be kidding me? How the hell did you rope Bella into that position? She's like what 75 now?"

Smiling William said "Closer to 80. James, how can I ever thank you for appointing her?"

James laughed "Well now that you mention it. Her only request was that Samuel stops by and visits her when he is well. Make sure that happens or I'm in hot water with Bella. That is not something I would relish either."

"I promise Samuel with be there as soon as he is able. He'll be happy to see her again. She has always had such a soft spot for him; ever since he was a baby. It only increased when he lived with her for a time and when he was part of the unit that rescued her grandson from the insurgents. So I'll call her tomorrow and arrange a time to present my case" William said with a smile.

William knew that his godmother Bella would not deny him this. Bella loved Samuel so much. She was like a second mother to Samuel. Bella had helped them so much when Samuel was a teen. They would have probably lost him without her help that winter night when Samuel was sixteen.

James shook his head no as he pulled papers from his inside pocket and stated "No need. I already spoke to her about it. She said yes before I could even finish. You now have the unanimous decision from the committee. Samuel's reactivation has been converted to a special assignment. Additionally his contract had been modified so that all time spent on special assignments will deduct from his active duty time requirement should he ever reactivate in the future. He is to be released from special assignment when he is medically cleared."

Taking the offered papers William smiled "James what can I say? Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough."

James looked at his friend with sincerity "Will, that boy of yours has done more to secure this country and other countries than anyone will ever know. Due to his direct actions two of the worst terror cells have been wiped out. Blowing up Tahir's stockpiles has put a huge dent in the supply of weapons to terror cells worldwide."

"Taking out Mousa has saved countless Special Forces soldiers. Ours were not the only ones targeted or hit. Got covert words of thanks from the US, UK, France and Israel for taking Mousa out."

"And Qasim, all I can say is I'm glad Sam was the one that actually took out that sick bastard. A small bit of justice for all he went through at that bastard's hands. Still can't believe he was about to do those things to a four year old boy. Glad he is dead and will not be able to harm another soul" McFergus stopped and took another sip.

Then James looked to William with an apologetic expression "I'm just sorry Sam's been so badly injured this time. I truly hope he recovers his sight completely. I also wish I could have just made an executive decision in this case and not made you jump through all those damned hoops. Especially with Hayes-Baxter. Sad to see the system put in place to prevent abuses like what happened to Sam before actually abuse him again."

William took a moment as he thought about that. Then he stated "James, I don't blame you or the system. Just wish we had a bit more latitude given our current state of unit readiness. There are several good men I'd like to be able to pull in for top level short-term special assignments but I will not ask them to reactivate nor involuntarily reactivate them to do so."

Nodding James responded "I figured that was the case with only two able bodied level fives at this time. Getting Simons and Srònai, Srònaich'O'Na, ah hell Mason, leveled to five so quickly took some doing. Impressive work Will. I understand we have a few more in line for that but they are not quite ready."

"So, given our current state of units, the committee has granted you the rights to allow special assignments for any former operative with level five security. It will give you the necessary bandwidth to deal with top level situations without unduly negatively affecting our former soldiers by involuntarily reactivating them."

Tom looked to William and asked "So, when will you tell Sam the good news?"

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Tuesday 8:00 pm**_

Mason and Zach had razzed the shit out of him last night when he came out after his cold shower. If the tables had been turned he likely would have teased them too but Christ that had been embarrassing. Thank god neither Zach nor Mason brought the subject up again today.

It had been a long day and he was fatigued both mentally and physically. Remembering Ripsaw yesterday had brought to the forefront some missions that had gone very, very wrong and cost good men their lives. Last night was hell with those nightmares. Today Dawn and he had delved into those intense memories. Then he had spent three hours in physical therapy. He mostly hit the heavy bag today. It helped release the anger and guilt that came with some of those memories.

For now he needed to push those memories away. Tonight his SRU family was coming and it was time to think of pleasant things. He hadn't seen any of them since Mason had literally dragged him out of SRU HQ two weeks ago. Christ he just kept embarrassing himself lately.

He had refused to leave. Zach had pleaded with him to just walk out and go. It was the beginning of the meltdown that crested with the argument with his father. Mason had grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled his ass out of the briefing room and to the waiting van. Both Mason and Winds had laid into him and Zach verbally all the way back to the General's home.

Thankfully not a single one of the team said a word to him about that day. Pleasant thoughts, pleasant thoughts he reminded himself. Unfolding the last chair and setting it down Sam asked "Zach, you remembered to get the ginger ale right? Sarge doesn't drink alcohol."

Zach held up the ginger ale showing him then put the cans into the cooler with the beer. Sam just stood waiting for an answer. Shit he forgot he didn't see well enough yet. Sam used his other senses and moved around the apartment like he saw everything perfectly but he didn't. Zach called out "Yeah got it. Just put it in the cooler with the beer."

Sam nodded "Great, thanks for all your help today. I know it can't be any fun for you acting as my nursemaid and gopher."

"Seriously, do we have to go over this again cuz?" Zach said in an exasperated tone.

Sam shrugged.

In a slightly exacerbated tone Zach responded "Just stop already Sam. I'm here because I want to be. Besides with all that you and Mason are teaching me, I will probably be one of the best prepared recruits. Hell I might even break some of your records."

Sam smirked and sat down on his swivel chair "You can try. If you succeed at least they will stay in the family."

There was a knock on his door. Sam got up to answer it. "Blondie, sit. You know you aren't allowed to answer the door yet" Mason said as he went to answer the door.

Yeah, another one of his concessions, Sam thought sitting back down. Eye sight improved a lot but not completely back. Still no direct threat but he understood his father's concern.

He could definitely protect himself if he knew there was a threat. But he couldn't yet recognize a threat quick enough. He could get his eyes to focus but it still took a lot of effort and it didn't last long. His eyes tired easily and when that happened it was back to blurriness and no amount of effort would focus them.

Mason checked the peep hole. "Blondie, it's the General." He opened the door and said "Good evening Sir."

Sam swiveled around as the General entered his apartment. It was the first time he had ever been here. "Sir what brings you here?" Sam said a little annoyed. Sam only arrived home yesterday and was pushing down the feelings like his father was being over-protective again and coming to check on him like a teenager left at home for the first time.

Hearing the tone and knowing they were still trying to reestablish the connection after their argument William cringed inwardly. Then he said a bit reserved "Looks like you are expecting company. Maybe I should come back later. Don't want to intrude."

God William regretted so much that he had overreacted and lost control. He had said such hurtful things and pushed Sam to the edge that day.

William learned first-hand that his son was able to take care of himself if the threat was close. His training was beyond normal SF combat training. He had asked Winds about it. Winds told him that Ripsaw had trained Blondie because the unit was concerned that he on his own most of the time with other units and had no one to cover his six.

Winds also informed him that Ripsaw trained Blondie in Apache Indian knife techniques, Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, American Kenpo and the Keysi Fighting Method. The General had recalled Ripsaw. It was a sad day when they lost him, good man, died too young.

But it still scared him that Samuel could not recognize a threat quickly though. Hence his insistence on a body guard. Mason had come to him and asked to be assigned. He had agreed.

Mason's sheer size would be a deterrent to many people and the man truly cared about his son. He was also the only one who could pull Samuel from his sullen mood in the days following their explosive argument. Christ, he called him Sunshine and Samuel permitted it, usually with a roll of his eyes. But a short time later Samuel would be in a better mood.

Sam focused hard and watched his dad. God it was hard work to see faces but he focused just in time to see a look of regret flash and then quickly leave his face. "Sir. That's not necessary. It's just the team coming over for pizza and beer. You are welcome to stay."

William was glad for Samuel that the team was visiting him. They were an important part of his life. A life he would be able to get back to sooner than he anticipated if his vision cleared.

The news could wait another day though so William said "I'll just be going. I'm in Toronto for the next few days for meetings. I can stop by tomorrow night if you are not busy. I do have a few official things we need to go over. No rush though."

Sam rose and said "Sir. Really you do not need to go."

He walked to the cooler and grabbed a beer. Sam wanted to make amends and try to return to a less stiff relationship they had been trying to develop. He turned to his dad and held it out to him "Dad, I'd like you to stay."

The General recognized the peace offering. He was about to step forward and answer when there was another knock on the door. Mason opened the door.

"Samtastic, you're home" Spike said as he entered and jogged over and hugged him completely oblivious to the uncertain line pulling father and son closer together again. Spike was about to take the beer "For me?"

Sam laughed pulling the beer away from him "No Spike, for my dad. More's in the cooler, help yourself." Sam patted Spike's shoulder as Spike headed for the cooler.

Taking two tentative steps toward his father Sam asked "Dad, will you stay? Please."

William moved forward two steps and took the beer then took two more and put his arm around Samuel's shoulder "Son, for you anything."

They both smiled and relaxed more than they ever had around each other.

Zach flashed Mason a huge grin and it was returned. It was nice to see father and son reconciling.

A few moments later another knock brought the rest of the team bearing pizzas. When they entered all of them took note that Sam and his dad seemed at ease with one another. Sam never shared with them what happened that day but all had been totally shocked by his comments. They were equally glad to see that Sam and Mason were okay. The way Mason had dragged Sam out of the briefing room had been both comical and alarming.

Ed grabbed a beer and walked over to Sam "Hey Samo, glad to see you back here. How's the therapy going?"

"Good. Maybe too good I can actually see the shine on your bald head" Sam smirked.

Ed chuckled and was about to retort when Greg said "So how long are you here for?"

"Until the vision returns to normal and I finish rehab. Rehab is just basically conditioning workouts now. Ribs and ankle are in great shape. Then they'll assign me to some unit. Probably be about three to six weeks total if all goes as the eye doctor thinks" Sam replied stoically .

Jules slipped beside and gave him a side hug "Good. We will have a lot of time to hang out with you before you have to leave us again. When your eyes focus enough maybe we can go trail riding."

Sam smiled down at her. He loved the positive way she indicated _when_ not _if_ his eyes would get better. There was never any doubt in her mind. That always helped him.

He responded with humor lacing his words "Well only if we can find a mountain-sized mountain bike for Mason. I've promised not to slip away again until given the all clear. Don't want to repeat Mason dragging me home like a run-away six year old again."

Everyone laughed and were glad Sam was able to joke about the incident. That was a good sign. Everyone helped themselves to pizza and drinks then found places to sit. Normal conversation took place while they ate.

Mike and Sam spent some time talking getting to know each other. Sam liked the guy. He laughed hard when Mike shared the story about the nail polish. Sam remembered that day. It was damned funny. He had sent flowers to Shel to thank her for preventing him from falling to the same fate as Wordy.

Sam caught up on everything happening in their personal lives and somethings around the barn including the other teams. He found out that Gary from Team Two was leaving soon. His wife got a promotion to a Vice President position at her work and it required them to move to Vancouver. Then conversation turned to sports and local news.

The General watched the interactions. He was pleased to see Samuel so relaxed and enjoying himself. Being here was good for him. These people were good for him.

William relaxed more than he had in months as he thought Samuel would recover here. William knew this team would help his son regardless if his vision returned. He could see they were an extended family to him. Then William got drawn into a discussion on chess with Greg.

An hour later Wordy came up to Sam and handed him another beer "So Shel and Sophie are plotting again. They want to put together a going away party for you before you have to leave us. They plan to invite all the SRU teams and anyone you would want to bring. So keep us apprised of when you have to head out so they can plan it. Also Shel would like you to come to dinner on Saturday."

Ed piped in "Sophie wants you to come to dinner on Sunday."

Spike said "Ma wants you to come too soon. Said she would make your favorite lasagna. And Mason, she's gonna love you. I'll have her make an extra large pan."

Jules reached down, grabbed her bag and pulled out a large rectangular tin. "I almost forgot" Jules said as she handed it to Sam.

"What's this?" he asked.

She grinned "Open it and find out."

He opened it slowly and knew without looking what it was when the delicious aroma of his favorite cookies wafted out. He closed it quickly and tightly clamped his hands on the box "Spike I don't care how much you beg I am NOT sharing this time."

Spike looked at Jules with puppy dog eyes and said whiney-like "Cookies. You made Sam cookies. What about me? I've been good. I deserve cookies too."

Jules tilted her head to the side and eyed Spike as he pleaded with his eyes. She smiled as she brought out another container and Spike's eyes got wide and happy as she opened it

"You think I'd leave you guys out? Never. I brought some to share tonight too." Looking strictly at Spike and pointing to the tin in Sam's hands she said sternly "But those Spike, are for Sam. No sneaking them out tonight when we leave. Got it?"

Spike put a fake hurt, innocent face on "Me? I wouldn't do that. How could you think I'd take Sam's cookies?"

Wordy chimed in laughing "Spike you've done it before. You let Lou take the blame for what you did."

Spike shook his head "Nunuh, it was all Lou's idea. Wasn't my fault he shared his stolen treasures with me."

Ed piped in "Sam get's Spike's cookies tonight then."

Sam chuckled. Geez this was stupid and juvenile but that was part of what he loved about these guys. He gave Jules a lop-sided grin and said "Jules you might want to share the cookies to shut them up before we start another cookie war."

General Braddock watched as everyone but he and Zach scrambled to grab a cookie, fighting to get there first. Mason's sheer size allowed him to get to it first. His interest piqued, must be darned good cookies to see men behave this way.

Jules had laughed at the guys antics then offered one to him and Zach. William took one bite and was hooked. Best cookie he ever tasted, well second after Yvonne's. General Braddock reached for a second before they were all gone.

A little while later, all cookies devoured, Mike got up "Sorry guys gotta go. Karen's expecting me. Told her I wouldn't be out too late tonight. She's had a rough day with four sick kiddos at home. Sam was nice to finally meet you."

"You too Mike" Sam said as Mike left.

Spike piped up "Sam you won't believe a call we had a few weeks ago. Man, I tell you it was so strange. We were told we couldn't talk about it. But yesterday we got word that it was no longer secret."

He went on to tell Sam all about the call regarding Hayes-Baxter and their interaction with a strange man named Dominique Savoy. Spike finished "I'm so glad that Allard got his job back and his wife stopped divorce proceedings. That Hayes-Baxter woman sure did a number on him and several others. I just wonder how many people's lives she ruined?"

Sam had listened. He recognized the name Dominique Savoy from long ago but chose not to react to the name. What Spike related was shocking. He was a bit worried about Ed. Sam knew what it was like to take the fatal shot on a victim turned aggressor. It was hard to cope with sometimes.

Turning to Ed, Sam offered "Ed, if you need to talk."

Ed replied "Nah I'm fine."

Sam looked at him hard "Fine?"

Ed backtracked "I mean okay, I'm okay. I mean she did ruin the lives of several men, causing one to commit suicide. Maybe just maybe my action saved someone else. But you know, I think I might feel better about it if you'd share your cookies. Spike hogged the last two."

Everyone laughed.

God he loved this team Sam thought. It was going to be very hard to be away so long. He would call Ed later and talk privately about the shot. He could hear Ed was still trying to come to terms with it. But these were Jules' cookies so he said "Sorry Ed, nice try. But you heard Jules. These are MINE."

William saw the sad look that crossed Samuel's face briefly before he joked around with Ed. He really should do this in private but he knew how close Samuel was with this team. It affected them too. It might also help his friend Ed come to terms with taking a fatal shot. He heard the same thing Samuel had heard in his voice. Decision made.

"Samuel" William said to get his attention.

Sam looked toward his dad. Wow, his face was clearer tonight without concentrating so hard. Maybe relaxing helped. He smiled "Yes Sir."

William cleared his throat "The reason I came tonight. I have some news that affects you. It's something that I've been working on since Mason and Winds rescued you."

There were a few gasps from the team.

Ed gave Mason an assessing gaze. Rescued Sam? Part of him wanted to know rescued from what and how but realized it was likely top secret.

Spike looked at Sam and wondered exactly how he he had been injured. Sam hadn't shared any information about how. Was he tortured again? Spike hoped not.

Wordy and Greg shared fatherly looks of concern. Both their looks said 'he has suffered so much'.

Jules softly queried "Rescued?"

The General looked at her concerned face "Yes. I cannot give any specific details but yes. Samuel's mission was critical and likely saved thousands of lives."

Looking back to Samuel, William continued "As you know the committee controls the stop loss program. With the Commander's assistance I was able to meet with all the members. I needed to get a unanimous decision to make it work."

Sam sat up straighter thoroughly interested in what his dad was saying "Make what work Sir?"

"I'll get to that in a moment son. I had gotten all but one to agree. Just one hold out. I tried everything but she would not change her mind. Do you remember the special mission you did for the Frenchman when you returned to active duty after your captivity?" William asked.

Sam looked toward his dad. Yeah he remembered that mission, how the hell could he not? He would never forget those scared little girls. That mission tried his soul. He pushed those memories down as his gut clenched. Something else he would need to talk to Dawn about.

He knew he could not reveal anything so he simply nodded and said "Yeah, nice guy. Nice little girls too. Glad we were able to get them home safely. What does that have to do with the committee?"

William had never revealed his relationship to Dom to Samuel. So he said "There is something you never knew. The Frenchman asked me personally for my help in that situation. I could not deny him because Dominique Savoy is a very old friend of mine. We did joint missions together long ago."

Sam stared at his father. He knew Dom personally? That's why his unit was sent on that damnable mission. Part of him wanted to be angry. But most of him knew that those little girls would have died or suffered a worse fate if he and his unit were not sent on the mission. Sam just blew out a breath and waited for the General to continue.

Greg quickly put it together. He looked at the General and said "You were the client of Dominique Savoy and Hayes-Baxter was the hold out on the committee."

General Braddock responded "Yes and yes."

Sam was beginning to see the pieces fall into place but asked "So Sir, what exactly did you need the committee to agree upon?"

William wasn't quite ready to drop the news "Do you remember Marbella Ridgewater?"

A huge smile crossed Sam's face as laughed. Stupid question. What game was his father playing? Sam asked "Sir, why are we playing twenty questions? How does Grande Dame Bella fit into this?"

General Braddock laughed "Sorry son old habit, taught you to think on your feet though. It is just that Marbella replaced Hayes-Baxter on the committee. Her only requirement to agree with my request was that you visit her when you are well."

Sam's suspicions and hopes were rising. But he tamped them down not wanting to fall too far if it wasn't what he hoped it was. He replied "I'd be happy to visit her. It's been way too long since I've last visited her. Dad, no more questions. What was your request?"

William broadly "My request was to convert your reactivation to a special assignment. It was granted. As soon as you are released medically you will be able to return to the life you choose Samuel."

Stunned completely speechless Sam could only stare at his dad. His dad did that for him. The General had been working for weeks to free him from his commitment. Sam couldn't find the right words to express how he felt. He tried to convey it with his eyes. He concentrated hard getting them to focus and lock onto his dad's eyes.

Spike broke the absolute quiet and the eye lock by jumping up and wrapping his arms around Sam as he shouted excitedly "Samtastic's coming back to us!"

It got so loud in the apartment that Sam feared his neighbors would call the cops to report a disturbance.

When it finally quieted down Sam pulled his dad to the side. Sam focused on his father's face and got it to come into focus as they locked eyes again. Sam got choked up and his throat constricted.

Sam finally managed to get out "Thank you for my life" as he embraced his father.

William embraced him back and whispered softly only for Samuel's ears "I love you son."


	33. Dawn I'm Afraid & Welcome Back Party

**Dawn I'm Afraid & Welcome Back Party**

* * *

 ** _Five Weeks After Memory Returned – Sam's Apartment – Wednesday 7:00 am_**

Glass breaking followed by a thump in Blondie's bathroom was heard by Mason. He raced into the room and found the bathroom door closed "Blondie, everything okay?"

No answer.

He knocked on the door "Blondie, I heard glass break. You need a broom or something?"

No answer.

Mason tried the door. Locked. "Blondie open up now or answer me."

No answer.

Mason drove his shoulder into the door and it popped open part way. Blondie was on the floor blocking the door from opening all the way.

Zach was in the other bathroom showering so Mason bellowed out "Zach come here now."

Then Mason pushed the door open enough to enter and knelt down. His voice softening but urgent "Blondie? Hey kid it's me Mason."

Blondie's eyes were vacant but open and his hand was on his chest over the scar.

The urgent bellow was heard over the running water. Zach slammed the water off, grabbed a towel and ran. Coming to a halt in Sam's bedroom a sopping wet Zach wrapped the towel around himself.

He wiped away the water dripping from his hair into his eyes with one hand as he said "Mason what the hell?" He saw Sam on the floor of the bathroom with shards of glass surrounding him.

Zach moved forward mindful where he placed his bare feet "Sam? Sam?" He snapped his fingers twice in front of his face. No response. "Let's get him outta the bathroom. Can you put him on the bed?"

"Blondie, I'm going to move you okay?" No response.

Mason cautiously lifted Blondie and placed him on the bed. Mason checked his vitals, all were fine. Then he clapped his hands loudly in front of his face. No blink and not even a flinch. Damn not catatonic again Mason thought.

Zach looked at Mason with a bewildered expression.

Mason's voice was concerned but calm "Zach I don't know what's triggered this. But I've seen him like this once before. It was bad. Matt was the only one to get through and that was after three weeks."

"I'm calling Dr. Tansy. Maybe Dawn has a clue what to do" Zach stated as he left the room to get his phone.

Mason sat on the bed next to Blondie. "Hey Blondie, come on snap out of it kid. You're scaring me again. Everything was going good. Come on Sunshine."

He lightly tapped Blondie's cheek but got no reaction. Mason blew out a breath, not again he thought, not again. The last time was after the rescued him and he wanted to die. He was not sure he could handle this again. What the hell triggered it this time?

Zach came back in and spoke quietly "Dawn's on her way. She can't be certain but she thinks he may have tapped a memory of something deeply traumatic. Said to just keep an eye on him until she gets here. She'll be here in thirty or forty minutes depending on traffic."

"Dawn also said to call EMS if anything physical happens. If he comes out of the catatonic state before she gets here we are to keep things quiet and calm. She said we can ask him what he remembers but not to push him for any details. She'll handle that when she arrives" Zach said in a rush.

"Okay" Mason said not taking his eyes off Blondie. "Grab a pair of sweats for him. Don't think he'd appreciate meeting with Dawn in his boxers."

They dressed him and Zach said "Don't think Dawn would appreciate meeting me in a towel either. Gonna dress then clean up the glass."

Mason nodded his eyes not leaving Blondie. He was scared. What caused the catatonic state this time? Blondie was doing so well. Mason begged silently for Blondie to snap out of it.

Several minutes later Sam's hand slowly moved from its position at his side up to his chest. It went directly to and traced the scar.

Mason watched the slow movements. He thought at least he is moving. That is different than last time. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad this time.

Zach came in and saw what was happening. Dawn must be right he thought. Sadly he moved to clear up the glass. Sam was likely remembering all the events surrounding when he got shot at Aaron's funeral. A chill went down his back as the image of Sam hooked up to all the tubes and lines in the ICU crossed his mind. That had been traumatic for everyone.

A few ragged breaths came from Sam and his eyes blinked back to life. Confusion at being on the bed and Mason staring at him was written on his face "Mason?"

"Yeah, Blondie?" Mason replied softly.

Sam turned at a sound and saw Zach sweeping up glass "Ah crap. What happened?" he said in a strained voice.

"Not exactly sure. What do you remember?" Mason asked slowly in a low even tone.

Zach dumped the glass in the trash can, set the broom and dust pan against the wall then sat on the edge of the bed opposite of Mason.

Shifting into a sitting position Sam said "I was rinsing my mouth after brushing my teeth. Then my eyes focused in the mirror and I saw …" His hand moved back to the scar and rubbed it lightly. He dropped his hand back to his lap. "I saw my face … then I … I don't know … I … I." Sam looked at them with sad fearful eyes. "I … nothing … laying here."

Zach patted his leg "Dawn's on her way. Said you probably remembered something traumatic. Why don't you just relax until she gets here?" He checked his watch "She'll be here in about twenty or thirty minutes."

Sam simply nodded and lay back down. He rolled on his side, curled up and unconsciously placed his hand on the scar on his chest again.

Zach got up and left the room unable to take seeing the fear and sadness in his cousin's eyes.

Mason stood and moved to the doorway. He just watched from there giving Blondie space so he didn't feel trapped. Mason was not a bit surprised that within five minutes Blondie was asleep. His breathing slow and regular. Rest little brother, you need it, Mason thought sadly.

Zach was in the kitchen pacing when Mason came out and told him Sam was sleeping. Mason saw how upset Zach was. He stopped him from pacing and grabbed Zach's shoulders making him face him.

Mason looked directly at Zach and said confidently "He'll get through whatever it was. He's strong like that. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Never seen someone with better coping skills and so resilient. You Braddock's are a stout stock."

Looking up at Mason he said "Yeah we are. But even the strongest have a breaking point. He has been so stable all week since he found out he gets to go back to SRU. I naively thought all would be well now. But …"

He pulled away from Mason and walked to Sam's favorite place near the windows and looked out at the early morning landscape.

Zach blew out a breath "But now I don't know. He … his eyes … they look so haunted, sad, hopeless." He leaned his head on the glass.

Watching Zach move away Mason thought his movements and mannerisms were so like Blondie's. He liked the kid. Would put in a request to have him assigned to his unit when he finished SF training.

Mason shook his head a bit as he thought Braddocks, tough, proud, intelligent, compassionate, duty bound, and good men all. They would willingly sacrifice their lives to save others, they were all protectors. But even strong, competent men such as them needed help on occasion.

He walked over and put an arm around Zach's shoulder "Kid. He'll make it back. He's seen things, horrible things. He's seen many people he cares about die in front of him. He's had to take many lives to save even more lives. He's suffered horrendously at the hands of others."

Mason sighed but continued confidently "Many men would just fold and give up. But Blondie is a fighter, a true warrior. He battles his way back every single time. But I won't lie to you he has come very close to giving up before. We need to watch him closely right now."

Zach's head snapped to Mason "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

Mason nodded "Yeah he's tried to end the pain before. Twice I know of. Matt saved him and pulled him through the first time after he was tortured. When he remembered he killed Matt at the cabin it was close again when the guilt overwhelmed him. But he worked hard, very hard and pulled it together again."

"Somehow with all the dreadful things he has seen. All the ghastly things he had to do in the name of duty. With all he has lost and pain he has endured. Blondie always fights and hangs on until he finds the beauty of life. He'll do the same again now. He'll fight" Mason declared.

Nodding Zach took a deep breath and straightened up. "I've seen how determined he is, how hard he tries. How much pain he can endure. I wanted to beat the crap out of Jeff when he made Sam crawl up those damned stairs."

Mason looked at him questioningly.

So Zach told him about how Jeff pushed him hard and set the stage for how they all helped Sam recover last time. "Like I said, I wanted to punch Jeff as I watched Sam struggle. I thought it was cruel, but Jeff was right. I didn't get it at first but I do now. You are right too. He'll fight for what he wants and what he wants is to be back at SRU. I need to stay positive and challenge him achieve his goals. None of us make it through life without help now and then."

"That's the spirit kid. That attitude will serve you well. Why don't you go start the coffee? Blondie might like some when he wakes and is working with Dr. Tansy" Mason suggested to give Zach something to focus on other than Blondie.

Zach moved off to make the coffee.

Mason stared off in the distance and images of Blondie trying to grab Winds gun and almost succeeding flooded his mind. They mixed with long ago images of pulling Blondie off of Blaze when he tried to get his knife too. Blondie was put through too much in his life.

He wouldn't let Zach see it but Mason was worried, the sad eyes scared him. At least the catatonia was very short this time. But just how much could Blondie take? Zach was right; every man had a breaking point. He hoped Blondie wasn't alone if he ever reached his.

Ten minutes later there was a soft knock on the door. After letting Dawn in they explained what happened after Zach had spoken with her. Dawn thanked them and asked Mason to take a chair for her into the room and set it near the bed. She and Zach prepared two cups of coffee. Taking the coffees with her Dawn entered Sam's room and closed the door.

As she approached the bed she softly called out "Sam, its Dawn." His eyes flickered open. She smiled at him "Hey there. Heard you've had a bit of a rough morning. Brought you some coffee."

He did not move to reach for it. So she placed his coffee on the night stand and sat down. "Would you like to talk about what happened?" Dawn asked.

Sam was silent a long time not moving from his position on his side. He finally blew out a soft breath "Dawn I'm afraid."

Dawn knew to stay silent with him at this point. Never push. The words would come eventually. She waited calmly and took a sip of her coffee.

The euphoria of returning to the team soon had driven him for the past week. But this morning he had crashed hard as several difficult memories assaulted him. "I'm so afraid. Every time things look like they are going good in my life something or someone gets taken away from me. My life seems headed for good again. I'm scared to death who or what might be taken from me this time. It always hurts so much. I don't know how much more I can cope with before I lose my mind."

He shifted to a sitting position and grabbed the coffee taking a drink. "I've tried so hard. Every single time. What if my vision doesn't fully return? It's gotten a lot better, faster than Dr. Blue anticipated over the last week. But what if it just goes away again or doesn't improve anymore. I'm going to be released from my Army contract and get to go back to SRU. But that could be ripped from me if my eyes fail to …"

Sam looked at Dawn, she came into focus easily. "But what scares me more is who I could lose. So many I've lost right before my eyes. Sara, Matt, Lou, Ripsaw, Buzz, Dutch, Yankee, Gary, Shy, Unicorn, Aaron. Too many to list."

His hand moved to his chest again. "I don't think I could take it if something happened to someone else I cared about. Jules almost died on that roof top because I wasn't covering her. Blaze almost died. He was bleeding out and there was nothing I could do. Ben was in the clutches of the sick bastard and the damned grenade. All the guys that got hurt at the safe house and in the blast that day."

Sam took several ragged breaths "It was my fault they were all put into jeopardy because I recognized Daphy. Because I let myself get distracted and didn't make sure they weren't followed. I keep losing people because I fail."

Dawn watched silently knowing he would talk more in a few minutes. In her head she thought, so we are going the guilt for things out of his control route, again. She prepared herself mentally for guiding him to recognize things were not his fault. She was glad the General had supplied her with some critical information about his latest missions. That information would be useful to help Sam.

Greg had contacted her last week to ask that she be the one to do Sam's psych eval when he was ready to return to SRU. He trusted her judgement. She could see Sam was struggling so badly right now. But he was making solid progress; he had come such a long way in only five weeks.

She had never worked with someone quite like Sam. His cocky attitude was a cover for all the guilt and blame he took on himself for things out of his control. He was strong and intelligent but his mind betrayed him by allowing him to feel responsible for things his wasn't. She had helped him down this path before. She would again. He was resilient he would come to terms and accept the reality of the situations but it would be hard work for him.

Sam rubbed his chest again and took another drink of coffee. He launched into more situations he took unjust ownership of like Cameo's injury. If he hadn't yelled out as he and Qasim struggled Apollo would not have rushed up the stairs and they would not have lost their surprise element and Cameo would not have been shot.

If he hadn't pulled his SRU team into the mission none of them would have been near the explosion and been hurt. Leo would not have been treated badly by the team and decided to reactivate if he had not called the Priority One.

Winds and Mason wouldn't have to risk their lives to rescue him if he had just watched where he was going and not injured his ankle. Ed would not feel the guilt about taking a fatal shot, because Hayes-Baxter wouldn't have been in the restaurant that night if it wasn't for him.

Slumping down on the bed Sam said "I'm so tired of failing. Every time I fail someone dies or gets hurt. I'm scared of who I'll lose if I fail again."

Sam looked at Dawn with miserable and questioning eyes "Why do I keep failing? Why does everyone I care about die because I fail them?"

Dawn saw the hurt, the loss, the intense internal struggle. His questions were her cue to begin "Sam you have suffered many losses; that is true. I can see how much that hurts you. I know through our past conversations how hard you fight the demons that haunt you."

She smiled slightly "I know you are not afraid of hard work. I challenge you to examine each of these individually and separate out what you could and could not reasonably control. I'll guide and help you work through them so you can find the beauty of life again. Are you ready to begin?"

Sam nodded yes.

Dawn nodded "Good, now let's start with Cameo ..."

* * *

 ** _Seven Weeks After Memory Returned – Wordsworth Home – Saturday 6:00 pm_**

"Unca Supersam, Unca Supersam" Ben squealed gleefully as he raced pell-mell across the backyard towards Sam and launched himself at him.

Sam had crouched down to catch him and landed on his butt from the force of the impact hugging Ben close and laughing. Every head at the welcome back party had turned and grinned at Ben's excited yells as he arrived and saw Sam. It was the first time Ben had gotten to see Sam since that day months ago.

Wordy turned to Spike smiling broadly "Seems Samtastic has another nickname. Not sure which one is better?"

"Samtastic. Definitely Samtastic. But Supersam is a close second" Spike said as he laughed watching Sam tickle Ben on the ground.

Ed chimed in "Both are fitting. Still can't believe his eye sight recovered so quickly."

Jules grinned and stated positively "Motivation. He had a goal he wanted so pushed himself very hard to attain it."

Greg took a sip of his soda watching as Sam allowed Ben, Allie, Lilly and Hollie to crawl all over him on the ground "How'd he do on the requal tests today Eddie?"

Ed turned to look at Greg "Amazing as always. Little off from his previous requal results. But still higher than the standards."

Greg heard a bit of concern in Ed's voice "Which areas was he off in?"

"Accuracy towards the end of the day. On par with Jules and me. But not quite up to his standards. He was not happy. Actually that's not the right word, he was thoroughly pissed. I'm sure he's gonna want to spend more time on the gun range training until he meets his own exacting standards" Ed replied.

Still hearing the concern he eyed Ed and indicated with a slight nod of his head to follow him away from the others. They wandered away casually appearing to go get some food. Seated away from others Greg said "So what's up Eddie?"

Shifting his gaze toward Sam who was now pushing the kids on the swing set he sighed "Yes he qualified and did better than most. He pushed himself hard the last few weeks. Very hard. I know he wants to be back with the team badly. We all can see that. Hell we all have helped push him and get him into shape. But a small part of me thinks it is too soon. I can't point to a particular thing, just a gut feeling. Did you get the psych eval from Dr. Tansy?"

"Yes about an hour before the party" Greg replied.

He was glad Dr. Tansy agreed to do the eval. Sam could bullshit his way through the SRU psychologist but seemed to be truly open with and trust Dawn. So Dawn's eval was a more accurate assessment of his mental state.

Greg shared "Dr. Tansy says he is fit for duty. But that Sam requested to have on going weekly sessions."

Ed turned to Greg "Did she say why? Is it something we need to be aware of? Something that might affect his performance on the job? Like PTSD or flashbacks."

As TL Eddie needed to know so Greg shared "No nothing like that. She says he is still working through accepting he is not responsible for certain things in his past."

Greg understood this well, he too had a lot of trouble in that area. Their job put them in impossible situations and everyone on the team had experienced issues with that at one time or another. So he agreed with Dr. Tansy's assessment.

"Is it about Matt or Sara? We all know how hard those were for him" Ed stated.

Greg shook his head "No. I asked if it was that. But she did not elaborate citing the need for confidentiality and privacy. I can accept that. Most of his past is confidential."

He then lightly laughed "Heck there are more full pages blacked out in his file than ones with any information on them. So it doesn't surprise me he would still need to work through some things. Dawn does not believe it will impact his job performance though. She said it is more personal and quality of life for him."

"Okay. What about the report from Dr. Blue?" Ed asked.

Greg finished chewing and swallowed "It's been delayed. Sam was supposed to see him yesterday for final evaluation. But Dr. Blue had a personal emergency and will be out for two weeks. Sam didn't want to delay returning that long so asked if the SRU optometrist could do his final check and buy off. He's scheduled to see Dr. Yaozu on Tuesday morning. If he clears him, Sam will rejoin the team on Thursday morning."

Ed's gut feeling was reducing but it wasn't fully eliminated "Is that wise? I mean Dr. Blue was the one that treated Sam and knows his full condition."

"Sam got a copy of his full file from Dr. Blue's office to give Dr. Yaozu. Although I would prefer a report from Dr. Blue, Commander Holleran said that one from Dr. Yaozu will be sufficient since Sam would have to get cleared by the SRU optometrist too anyways." Greg watched Ed, he still wasn't completely satisfied and his unsettled feeling started to rub off on him.

"Okay, but I want to ease Sam back in. Let him settle back into the rhythm, make sure there is nothing we need to compensate for or adjust on the team. Just like we did with Spike after Lou died. We have three snipers on our team. I don't want to put him in the Sierra One position until we get the full report from Dr. Blue. Are you okay with that?" Ed asked.

Greg nodded "Eddie, as TL that is your call to make but in this case I completely agree with you. Just like we shielded Spike from having to deal with bombs for a while, given what Sam's been through he doesn't need the added pressure of being the sniper so soon. He won't like it one bit, gonna be mad as hell. You need to be up front with him and tell him why. Don't leave him in the dark and make him think you don't trust him or his skills."

"Yeah, that would be best. Not a conversation I'm gonna enjoy. But I'll tell him before workout. That way he can release his anger on the poor heavy bag and be settled before shift starts" Ed responded as his gut settled.

This is Samtastic they were talking about, Ed thought. No mere mortal. But Ed felt better that Greg agreed to ease him back in. Sam had been through so much lately it was the right thing to do.

Ed nodded to Greg happy that they were in agreement. They rose and rejoined the rest of the party.

Mason was talking with Winds "Yeah was really worried a few weeks ago. That morning scared me. But Dr. Tansy helped him a lot. He's been right as rain since."

Nodding Winds answered "You sure, you know how good he is as showing people what they want to see."

"Pretty sure. When his eye sight came back fully few days later he really evened out. Then when all his SRU buddies started showing up every day to work out with him or go to the gun range he became happier than I've seen him in a long time."

Winds smiled watching Blondie swing Ben around in the air. "That's good. I was so glad to hear what the General did for him. He deserves to be happy." Winds turned back to Mason "So you off babysitting detail and back with your unit?'

Mason shoved Winds lightly almost knocking him over "Don't let Blondie hear ya call it that. You'd regret that as you nursed a sore jaw. But yeah. Good to be back. Units got shuffled around a bit to fill the leadership gaps. Pirate, Riddler and Eagle all got their own teams now. I got Apollo and Pawn for now. Sutton is keeping my last spot open for Zach when he completes training, he'll shift temporaries in and out of it until then. Hear Cameo landed with you and Blaze."

Winds nodded and the two continued to talk shop as several other unit men joined them.

Sam finally extracted himself from the kids. That was fun but time for some adult time. He spotted Mike and wandered toward him "Hey Mike."

Mike turned and saw Sam approaching "Hey Sam. I'd like to introduce my wife Karen. Karen this is Sam. The guy I've been covering for."

They exchanged pleasantries as a hoard of kids descended upon them begging if they could have another soda. Mike introduced his six kids. Sam thought whoa, two sets of triplets, Mike had his hands full. Karen headed off with the kids to find juice and water instead saying the kids would be too riled up with too much soda and that would be a nightmare at bedtime.

Watching them head off Sam said "Nice family Mike."

Mike replied "Thanks. They are a bit of handful at times. Don't really know how Karen manages them so well with all the long shifts we have in SRU. Amazing woman. Gonna have to take her out for a night on the town soon. But it will have to wait a bit. Team Two starts the overnight shifts on Thursday."

"I'm glad Team Two snatched you up for Gary's open spot. SRU can't afford to lose men like you. How's it going with them?" Sam asked.

Grinning Mike answered "Glad Sergeant Bradley and Team Two wanted me. When I heard you were coming back I first looked into switching to Guns and Gangs or Vice. Neither really appealed after time in SRU. It's been a fairly easy transition. They do things a bit differently but getting the hang of their style. They like that I feed them info from the Sierra position. Was real helpful on a few calls because I could see things the cameras couldn't. I have you to thank for that."

Sam shook his head "Nah, you were trained by the best, Ed and the rest of Team One. Thanks for watching their backs for me."

Mike glanced over at his kids "No problem man. Welcome back. Gotta go sort out the boys their arguing over something. See ya later."

Sam watched him separate the boys then headed for the cooler to grab a beer. He saw Blaze and Angus talking and grabbed one for both. He smiled as he walked up and handed them beers "Damned good to see you both up and walking, glad you could make it."

Angus and Sam exchanged a few words but when Angus saw Spike he excused himself and hurried away wanting to talk to Spike.

When it was just the two of them Blaze pulled Blondie into a tight hug "Damned glad to see you too kid. You did good. Very good. I'm so proud of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for rescuing Daphy and Ben. You saved my life too. I can never repay you for all you have done for me, for Daphy, for Ben."

Blaze finally released him and scrutinized him, boring into his eyes "How are you doing Blondie? And I mean really doing, not the deflective crap you spew to the psychologists to sign off on your evals."

Sam winced. Blaze knew him too well could always see through him if he lied. So he answered simply "Getting there. Helps to see all the guys up and around. Happy they could all make it tonight."

He looked around and spotted all the guys from JTF2 interacting with all the guys from SRU. He saw Cameo jog over to the coolers to grab drinks for several guys.

Shifting his gaze back to Blaze he said seriously with an undercurrent of guilt "Heard what you did for Cameo. Thanks for that. Would have been a great loss to JTF2 if he hadn't made it back into fighting shape."

Blaze heard the tone "Blondie that wasn't your fault. If it is anyone's fault it lies with me. I was in charge at the safe house. I should have requested a more secure one once we arrived and saw how out dated it was. None of this would have happened if I had done my job better that day. But things happen, that's life. So put that one down. It is not your burden to carry or your fault."

Sam thought 'still working on that' but he didn't voice it out loud. Instead wanting to focus on happier things tonight he changed the subject "So who's the stunning lady you brought with you?"

Blaze recognized the deflection but tonight was supposed to be fun so he let the issue drop. He turned and watched as she talked with Jules, Sophie and Shel. He turned back to Sam "That would be the Ice Queen."

Sam looked at him bemused. Blaze explained it all to him. They were both laughing heartily by the end of his story.

He had never seen Blaze so besotted with a woman, it was clear as day. "Not so much the confirmed bachelor we all thought. I think this one has you hooked. Fire and Ice, nice combination" Sam smirked.

"Yeah, well we will see about that. Not so sure she wants to remarry anytime soon if at all, especially a soldier. Dating is good for now, taking it real slow. Losing her husband was very hard on her. She still misses him" Blaze responded a bit reserved.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked just as a young boy traipsed up to Blaze and stood waiting not interrupting.

Blaze squatted down "Yes Ryan."

Ryan leaned close and whispered something in Blaze's ear.

Blaze snickered "Okay, thank you for the information kiddo. Why don't you go ask Ben to play catch with you and the other boys over there and get him away from the girls for a bit?"

"What was that all about?" Sam asked curious.

Blaze smiled "My little informant, Lizzy's son Ryan. Kid tells me everything. Wicked intelligent boy. He just told me that there was a huge argument going on between Ben and Allie."

Sam just looked at him waiting for him to continue.

Blaze started chuckling "It was about you."

"Me?" Sam asked glancing at the two kids who were just now being separated as Ryan led Ben away to play catch.

Full on laughing now "Yeah you. Seems that Ben insists you are Supersam and Allie insists you are Prince Charming. Damn Blondie you have a way with kids. Ever think of settling down and having some of your own?"

Sam looked over at Jules. She was beautiful and absolutely magnificent when she laughing like she was right now. She saw him looking at her and smiled at him. Sam gave her one of his WOW smiles then replied to Blaze "Someday. Not right now though."


	34. We Fight For Him Until He Can Fight

**We Fight For Him Until He Can Fight**

* * *

 _ **Eight Weeks After Memory Returned – Langley Towers Hostage Call – Thursday 10:15 pm**_

Eye trained on the subject through the scope Sam watched and listened as Jules continued to negotiate with the woman. She had been at it for about three hours now. Jules was gaining ground it seemed right now. But it had been up and down many times. There were a few times he thought Sarge would call Scorpio but Jules would calm the woman down just before reaching that point. This was a difficult call but he was happy to be watching over her, protecting Jules as she worked.

Jules was covered by Wordy and Leah inside the building across the street. Greg, Spike and Ed were in the command truck. He was on the roof of a twenty story building in the Sierra One position.

An icy drizzle and moderate wind had started several hours ago. Not a nice night to be out laying on a rooftop. He was soaked through, very cold and stiff from not moving for nearly three hours. But that didn't really bother him. He was just glad to be back with his team. He could protect them again.

Once he heard what his father had done he went in overdrive pushing himself to the limit. Getting back to the team quickly had been his goal. He had been surprised at how much the team pushed him too.

They seemed just as eager for him to return as he was. Ed put him through his paces and he re-qualified with SRU. He was still a little miffed that his accuracy marks had been lower than his previous requal but at least they were still way above SRU standards.

This morning on his first day back Ed had pulled him aside before workout. He told him he would not be putting him into the Sierra position for a few weeks. Ed explained why and looked completely confused when he simply agreed.

Ed stopped him from heading to the locker room and asked why he wasn't angry. Sam explained he understood that Ed was just concerned about him and the team. And he respected the decision because Ed's job as the TL was to do what he felt best for the team. That had shocked Ed but he had smiled and said 'good, glad we understand each other' then slapped his back.

They had entered the locker room together and the rest of the team was there to welcome him back for the first day. That felt good. When he opened his locker he had been surprised. It looked like it had snowed in his locker. The bottom two inches of the locker was covered with little strips of paper.

The rest of the team was shocked too. They all laughed to find out all of them had been leaving him notes. Sam was deeply touched and gathered them all up and put them in a zipper baggy that had previously contained the last of Jules cookies, Spike stole his last one while he was speaking with Ed. Sam smiled, he would read the notes later and figure out a way to make Spike pay for eating the last cookie.

Workout had been fun. It should have been Wordy's day to choose and he had a chick flick that he wanted to preview since his girls wanted to watch it this weekend. But Ed and the others insisted it was Sam's first day back so he got to choose. Sam tuned the radio to a hard rock station and everyone enjoyed a hard workout with lots of joking around.

They were pumped up, in a good mood and ready for shift by seven am. He and Jules did a quick coffee run to Timmy's for the team. They all laughed when he gave Ed his double double with a large red heart drawn on it and he told Ed that he was careful when he crossed the big road.

But then the first hot call came in and the rest of today had been go, go, go. It was like the city had gone crazy. They had gone from call to call with no breaks. Same for Team Three. HQ had to actually call Team Four in early for shift to cover another call hot call.

Sam thought so much for easing back into the job. So far today he had chased down four subjects in three separate calls. Crawled through vents to get eyes in for one call. Rappelled down the side of building with Ed to rescue a jumper that Greg had talked down. And now he was here as Sierra One, exactly where Ed _didn't_ want him to be.

The team was dead tired by the end of the day and they were all looking forward to relaxing and getting something to eat other than power bars. Wordy told him they had done more in one day than in the past two weeks. Sam was more tired than he would like to admit to the team and was glad the first shift was almost over. He was ready to go home and crawl into bed too tired to even bother eating. He had even taken Jules up on her offer of a ride home instead of having to ride his bike.

Then thirty minutes away from the end of their twelve hour shift they got this call. That was nearly four hours ago. It took the team ten minutes to arrive on scene. Everything had gone to hell in a hand basket in the first fifteen minutes on scene.

Due to what had transpired, Sam was the only one for Sierra One position even though Ed didn't want to put him there until Dr. Blue's final assessment.

Three subjects were reported in an armed home invasion on the nineteenth floor of the upscale Langley Towers Apartments. When they arrived two males fled and the woman took a hostage. He, Spike, Leah and Ed had pursued the men. Greg, Wordy and Jules had engaged with the woman subject.

The woman would not respond to Greg at all so Jules quickly took over negotiations. They apprehended both males. But Ed, Spike and Sam had gone down hard with the subjects when they caught them on the stairs. All five of them fell down a flight of stairs when the subjects turned to fire.

Sam had seen them start to turn and raise their guns and called out 'gun stop' to Ed and Spike who were closer than he and Leah. Spike stopped and Ed was unable to stop as quickly and ran into the back of Spike. The momentum of Ed propelled Ed and Spike into one of the subjects and all three fell down the stairs.

The second subject turned to either run or fire at Ed. Sam wasn't sure which but didn't want to take any chances. So he launched himself at the back of the subject wanting to take him into custody rather than kill him. They also rolled down the stairs.

In the end, Ed had twisted his knee and he could not put much weight on it. Spike smashed his shoulder into to ground nearly dislocating it. He had whacked his head on bottom step and was okay except for a slight headache. One subject was unconscious and Leah had quickly cuffed the second.

With Ed's knee out of commission and Jules negotiating, when they needed a sniper to go up to the roof of the twenty story building via stairs he was it. Sam had raced down sixteen flights of stairs in Langley Towers. Quickly he grabbed his Remi, kit and night scope and raced up twenty-one flights of stairs to the roof of the building across the street because the elevators had been locked down as a security measure.

Sam checked his watch. That was just over three hours ago now. Ed would be checking in again soon.

Ed checked his watch 10:15 pm, time to check in with Sam. "Samo, how ya doing out there? Not too cold?" Ed called out shifting in the chair and asking the same question each time.

He always got a cocky answer in return, some variation I'm okay, not too bad, or been in colder weather. But Ed was thoroughly pissed off at himself for his injury. He should have reacted quicker to Sam's warning on the stairs and stopped. Because he hadn't both he and Spike were injured and he had to put Sam in the sniper position with no backup.

It was damned cold and wet outside and Sam had been out there for more than three hours. Like clockwork, he had checked on Sam every fifteen minutes. It was not ideal but the only option the team had at the moment.

But Samo always came through and today would be no different. Sam was tough and he could count on him. He had performed exceedingly well today. Slipped right back into the rhythm with no hiccups. Like he had never been gone. It felt good to have the team back together. Especially on a day like today.

Sam was about to answer 'okay, but you owe me a hot coffee' when something happened.

There were several flashes in his left eye as a reddish tint seeped into his vision. Then things went blurry. Sam blinked once and refocused. But it went blurry again. He blinked several times and things came back into focus but the reddish tint was still there. What the hell was going on?

Ed was waiting for an answer and when Sam didn't respond immediately he said "Sam you didn't freeze to death on me out there did you? What's your status?"

"Ed, um" Sam hesitated. He had to tell him, didn't want to but had to. Ed was gonna be pissed but he had to tell him.

"Sam?" Ed heard the hesitation.

"Ed got a bit of a problem" Sam finally stated.

Glancing at Greg Ed asked "What's the problem Samo?"

"Can we get back up from Team Three or Four?" he asked.

Spike looked at Ed concerned. Sam wouldn't ask for back up unless something was up. Tense now Ed queried "Sam what do you see, why do we need backup?"

They heard Sam's breath hitch as he replied "That's the problem. I'm having trouble seeing. Everything went blurry for a moment. Back in focus now but …" he was cut-off by Ed.

Angrily Ed replied "And you're just now telling me this?"

Greg put a hand on Ed's shoulder to calm him knowing Ed's anger was a cover for concern "Sam when did this start?"

"Just now, as I was about to answer Ed it happened. I blinked several times and refocused but …" Sam trailed off.

They all knew. He didn't have to finish. If it went blurry once it could go again and that could be bad.

Ed pulled out his phone and called Winnie to check on the status of the other teams. His frustration grew. He made another call. He relaxed only slightly.

"Sam how you doing? How bad is it? How often?" Ed questioned.

More confidently then he felt Sam answered "Okay for now. Twice close together but not since. Any luck with Team Four or Three assisting?"

Inside his head Sam was begging, please let one of the teams be available. They were out on calls when they had taken this one. Surely at least one of them was back at the barn. The team was counting on Sierra One to keep Jules and the hostage safe. They were counting on him.

Ed responded "No both still out on calls. Called Mike. He is off duty but agreed to come in early. But he won't be here for another thirty minutes. He has the kids, has to drop them off at the grandparents first. You will be okay until then, right?"

Put like that, how else could he answer Ed except "Yeah. I'll be good that long."

But internally Sam wavered. Thirty minutes? Maybe, god he hoped so. His team needed him to be able to so he would have to force himself somehow. He couldn't fail them; it was his job to cover them.

Sam felt so incompetent right now. Why was there a reddish tint to his vision and why were his eyes going blurry now? They hadn't been blurry for weeks. They had never had a tint to them either.

Had he pushed too hard? The doctor did the last check. He had all Dr. Blue's notes. Dr. Yaozu signed off, he wouldn't do that if there was still an issue. So why?

All went blurry again. Crap not again. Sam blinked several times quickly and refocused. Anxiety grew. It was Jules and a teenage hostage he was covering. He could not afford to lose sight of them for one second the subject was too volatile.

Jules continued to negotiate with Greg guiding her. She was glad to have him in her ear. This negotiation was long and drawn out and at times she was losing confidence in her ability to get through. Spike continued to feed them information as he dug deeper into the troubled woman's past. But she wished she could end it more quickly.

She had heard the conversation between Ed and Sam. They all did. She and Wordy had shared a quick glance at each other and each saw the concern in the other.

They all knew Sam was in trouble. Damn she wished the woman would have responded to Greg that way she could have been Sierra One. Aw crap she was escalating again. Jules refocused on the subject.

Sam glanced at his watch. Forty minutes had passed since Ed said Mike was coming. Mike was supposed to be here by now. Where was he?

A few small floating black spots had occurred but dissipated with blinking but not the red tinge. Keeping focused was getting hard, very hard. Fear he would fail his team was growing exponentially with each passing minute.

"Ed. Status on Mike?" Sam asked trying to keep his tone even and hide his fear.

"Sorry Samo, he just called. He's stuck in traffic. Semi jack-knifed and there is a chain reaction pile-up due to the slick roads" Ed said.

Ed looked at Greg they both heard the fear. They both muted then Ed said "Greg, I need to get up there. The subject is escalating again. If … and he …"

Greg understood the short unfinished statement. It would bad if he lost focus if the shot had to be taken.

Looking to Spike Greg directed "Help get Ed there and find someone to unlock the elevator."

Spike nodded and tapped the monitor indicating new information for Greg to pass to Jules. He prayed it would help deescalate the situation. Then he and Ed moved out as quickly as they could.

Greg unmuted "Sam, Spike and Ed are on the way."

He then started to feed the new information to Jules hoping for a good outcome but he was getting a bad feeling.

"Copy" Sam called out.

Dammit, he wasn't pulling his weight. He was a burden on his team, a distraction when they needed all their attention on the situation. Ed was injured and should not have to cover his ass. Spike was needed in the truck pulling information that might help resolve this peacefully. Instead Spike was helping Ed to him. Dammit, he was failing again, he was failing his team.

Sam blinked rapidly. Crap. Blurred. He blinked again. Cleared and focused again. Thank god. But then it blurred again. Crap.

As much as he hated the idea Ed was coming to cover for him, Sam wished Ed would hurry. Fear was rising that he wouldn't be able to focus when needed and endanger his team or the hostage.

Blink. Clear. More rapidly blurred. Blinks to clear again.

Ed called out "Samo on the way. Hang on buddy."

He was kicking himself mentally. He should have done this when Sam first told him he was having trouble focusing. Why did he wait so long? Why the hell didn't Greg tell him to go immediately too? Leaning on the wall and holding the railing in the elevator Ed watched the damned floor numbers rise slowly.

… … … … … … … … … 4  
… … … … … … … … … 5  
… … … … … … … … … 6  
… … … … … … … … … 7  
… … … … … … … … … too damned slow.

Sam needed to let them know he was completely compromised now. He blinked again and it cleared. Blurred again. Cleared again. Blurred. Blink. Clear. Blurred. Blink. Clear. He could no longer maintain focus for more than a second or two. His eyes were so fatigued after more than four hours with his eye to the scope.

Unfortunately Sam and Greg called out simultaneously "No joy" and "Scorpio."

Hearing the command Sam blinked rapidly. Cleared. Red but focused. Squeezed trigger. Blurred. Rapidly blinked. Blurry still.

He could not see if he hit the mark. He blinked again. He tried several times and could not get them to focus now.

Sam rolled onto his back breathing harshly and rapidly as panic increased. Waiting. Waiting. Please call out subject down. Please don't let it be the hostage or Jules.

Seconds ticked by and no call out, it felt like a lifetime as his panic skyrocketed.

What the hell was he doing being on Team One when he was not one hundred percent?

Waiting. Please call out who is down. What if it was the teenage boy? Jules? God please not Jules. Wordy? Leah? No.

Why didn't they call out who was down? Did he miss completely? A rushing pounding in his head drown out all sound.

Oh god he felt like he was gonna be sick. He flicked his headset to mute not wanting them to hear him puke. He rolled over and got to his knees.

Ed heard both call outs. Dammit. He heard the shot. He didn't hear Sam call out subject neutralized. Come on dammit.

… … … … … … … … … 19  
… … … … … … … … … 20

Hearing the harsh breathing over the headset Ed called out "Sam?" No answer.

… … … … … … … … … Rooftop. Ding.

Ed looked to Spike "Go now, I'll follow."

Spike sprinted to Sam's location.

Wordy relayed "Subject neutralized. Hostage safe."

Greg called out "Sam status." No answer. "Ed what's his status?"

"Spike?" Ed called out.

Spike skidded to a halt. Sam was just getting to his knees pale and shaky. He looked like he was ready to hurl. "Sam, buddy. You okay?"

The entire team waited for a response. It was soft and far away, heard through Spike's headset not Sam's.

Head down Sam shakily and softly he asked "Who?"

"Who what?" Spike said moving closer and squatting down close to Sam trying to get a look at him.

Sam moved from his knees to a seated position. His back against the wall, knees up and pulled close, arms across the top of his knees. He leaned his head back against the wall with his eyes closed.

Ed hobbled close taking in the sight. He knew what Sam was asking. He used the wall to slide down to the ground close to Sam careful to keep his injured knee straight.

He reached out for Sam's shoulder "Good shoot Sam. Subject neutralized. The hostage and team are all okay. Did you not hear Wordy?"

Sam shook his head no and lowered his head onto his arms. Desolately he said "I shouldn't be here. I'm a liability to the team."

SIU swooped in moments later preventing Ed or Spike from talking further to Sam.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ Briefing Room – Friday 2:50 am**_

Ed and Spike had come back from the ER two hours ago with Ed in a knee brace using crutches and Spike's arm in a sling. The team had finished debriefing without Sam. They were anxiously waiting for him to return from SIU.

Mike walked past the briefing room on his way to the lockers to change for his shift and saw Team One sitting there "Hey Sarge, sorry about earlier I tried. Was stuck waiting in that pile up for nearly three hours."

Greg looked a Mike and said "No worries, we really appreciated the effort."

Mike nodded then asked "What are you all still doing here?"

Wordy replied "Waiting for Sam. SIU is taking a very long time with him tonight."

"Right. Okay. Well I hope they let him out soon you all look bushed. That was one hellava long shift you guys had. Ed, Spike you guys okay?" They responded okay and conversed a bit more before Mike headed to the locker room.

Jules was worn out after today and tired of waiting. She was getting upset. Didn't SIU know Sam had been up for nearly twenty-four hours? Surely they could let him get some sleep before badgering him over a good shoot.

Reaching her boiling point she finally bit out "Why the hell are they keeping Sam so long? It was a good shoot. Boss they let you go hours ago. If something was wrong, wouldn't they have kept you too?"

Exhausted just like the rest of the team Greg rubbed his hands over his face and head. "I don't know Jules. Could be the last part of the transcript."

Spike was pacing about to ask why, what about the transcript when Mike walked back in dressed in his workout gear with a concerned look on his face "Why is Sam's locker cleared out?"

Ed's head snapped to Mike "What do you mean cleared out?"

"Exactly what I said, its wide open and empty, thus cleared out" Mike responded confused.

The team looked at one another. Greg pulled out his phone and contacted SIU. Hanging up he said "Sam left SIU over two hours ago. They ruled it a good shoot. No issues or concerns."

Jules ran for the locker room. The rest of the team followed quickly. Jules plowed into the room without asking if the men were decent. Several quickly covered as she raced to Sam's locker. Wide open. But not completely empty.

Two items remained on the top shelf. The first item was a zipper bag full of tiny notes. The ones that looked like snow covering the bottom of Sam's locker when he had opened it.

The second item was a small note taped to the bag. It read _'I'm sorry I failed you today. I'm a liability to your safety. You deserve someone you can count on to protect you. I don't belong here now. I'm tired, so tired of failing.'_

Jules looked to the team "Minivan express."

They all nodded and moved quickly to Wordy's vehicle.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Friday 3:20 am**_

"He's not answering" Ed said as he pounded on the door again. He looked to Jules "Do you still have a key to his apartment?"

Jules swallowed hard. How the hell did he know she had a key? "It's in my purse back at the barn."

Wordy pulled out his lock picking tools and quickly opened the door. They all entered. Wordy checked the bedroom. Greg checked the spare room. They congregated in the kitchen area.

"Nothing appears to be gone from his room. His bag is not here either. I don't think he's been back here since clearing out his locker" Wordy said.

Rubbing his head Greg asked "Then where did he go?"

Spike offered "Maybe to the General's home?"

Ed replied "I don't think he would go there."

They all paced around trying to think of where Sam would go. Each offered up suggestions but each one was dismissed.

Spike proposed "Maybe he took a bike ride. You know how that helps when he needs to clear his head."

Greg shook his head "No I saw his bike still in the bike rack when we left."

Jules wandered into his room and looked around. She opened the closet. Military neat. Something caught her eye. She ran to the bathroom. Opened the drawers and cabinets. She checked the laundry hamper. She pulled out his t-shirt drawer. "Guys, he's been here."

Spike quickly came into the room "How do you know that Jules? His bag is not here."

She looked at him sadly "Yes it is."

The rest of the team entered the bedroom.

She continued "He's a neat freak. He put everything away in its place. The bag is folded and in the closet. All his toiletries are put away. His workout clothes are in the hamper."

Jules sat on the edge of the bed "Where did he go?"

Greg walked out into the kitchen. He noticed the trash was empty. He immediately walked to the fridge. Nothing perishable left inside. Shit. He rubbed his face briskly several times to calm down. "Guys, we need to find Sam fast."

The urgent tone of Greg's voice brought them all to the kitchen with worry etched on their faces. Ed said "Why?"

Looking to each of them "He left everything so it would be no trouble. Nothing perishable, no trash."

Dawning hit them all. Jules ran to his nightstand and pulled it open. She tried the lid of the gun safe. Unlocked. She lifted it. Jules sucked in a breath. It was gone. Tears threatened to fall but she brushed them angrily away.

His note to them was a damned suicide note.

Where would he go?

* * *

 _ **Matt's Grave – Friday 3:40 am**_

Sam lay on his back on the cold, wet ground next to Matt's grave. His eyes closed against the blurry world. Slowly he removed the ear buds. It was no use, Beauty had died. He lost everything important to him, so why not Beauty too.

The hurt, pain and loss never stopped.

As Sam placed the dead, battered MP3 player with ragged ear buds on Matt's grave he said aloud "Matt I've tried. I've tried so very hard. I keep failing. Winds was wrong when he said we never failed each other. I failed you. I failed to see it was you."

His hand traced the five inch cold metal barrel resting on his chest.

"Mattie, you were 184. I should've been 185. But now I'll be number …. God I don't even know anymore, too many that's for sure. But I guess it doesn't really matter now. Whatever the number it will be the last life I take."

Tears slipped from his eyes as he squeezed a small stuffed duck and then released it so it landed next to the MP3 player.

"Matt I'm sorry I can't be there for Ben. But he has Blaze. Blaze won't fail him like I will. He's safer without me. I lose everyone I care about."

He reached into a small box and gathered seven charms. As he spoke he slowly dropped a plane, a cat, a clown, a spider, a snake, and a boat next to the duck.

"Matt, today I failed the team. They count on me to keep them safe. They gave my life purpose again. But I failed them too. I failed Greg. I failed Ed. I failed Spike. I failed Wordy. I failed Lou."

Holding the shovel tightly in his right hand fresh tears squeezed out.

"Most of all I failed Jules. I couldn't see. I almost killed Jules like I killed you Matt. Jules I'm so sorry. I'm suppose to protect you. I failed to protect you up on the roof before when you were shot. I failed you tonight again. I'm so sorry Jules."

Sam's hand would not release the shovel and let it fall with the other items. It grasped tighter as the small metal charm cut into his palm.

"I'm so sorry I failed you all today. I'm a liability to your safety. You deserve someone you can count on to protect you. I don't belong here now."

His left hand wrapped around the pearl grip. He opened his eyes and blinked several times. The red hued world came into focus but quickly blurred again.

"I did try hard Jules. I promise I tried hard. I tried very hard to find the beauty of life this time. But it's gone. I can't see it anymore. All I see is a blurry, blood colored world. Kinda fitting huh. So much blood on my hands via my eyes."

He moved the gun to his temple, flicked the safety off, moved his finger to the trigger and closed his weary eyes.

"I'm so very tired of failing. I'm tired of hurting so much. I'm too tired to fight anymore."

Breathe, just breathe. A few more breaths then it will be time to stop the pain.

In. Hold 2, 3, 4. Release.

In. Hold 2, 3, 4. Release.

"Sam."

It was soft, gentle and close so close to him.

"Sam?"

The same soft, gentle voice closer now. He ignored it.

"Sam."

Again the same but even closer almost a breath away.

"Sam!"

One word held such emotion. His finger moved off the trigger.

"Sam?"

Whispered just above him. He blinked open his eyes.

The Beauty of life came into focus above him for only a moment before everything blurred again.

"Come home Sam. Come back where you belong" Beauty softly said to him.

Unable to see Beauty, Sam closed his eyes.

But he concentrated on listening as Beauty continued to whisper to him.

A firm but gentle hand slowly took his gun away.

Two sets of strong hands sat him up.

He was up then walking being supported and guided by strong arms as Beauty beckoned him to come home where he belonged.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Friday 4:50 am**_

Greg and Spike paced the family room area. Ed sat on the couch with his leg propped up on the table next to a pearl grip vintage colt, a MP3 player, a duck and six charms in a small box.

Wordy walked out of Sam's room. He looked at the other three guys. They must all be wearing the same expression. They came so close to losing him tonight. It was a mix of sadness, rage, fear, exhaustion and guilt.

Wiping at his misty eyes, Wordy softly said "How did we fail to see the signs?"

All were quiet. Reliving the events leading up to and including the scene that greeted them at the cemetery. Trying to figure out how to answer Wordy.

As they tried to figure out where Sam went Spike located Sam's phone in the desk. He saw the last call Sam made was to a cab company. Spike contacted the cab company and found out the destination of the passenger picked up outside Sam's apartment. They had raced to Matt's grave hoping they were not too late.

Upon reaching the grave they found Sam lying there with his colt to his head, safety off, finger on the trigger. They heard the last part of what he said _'I'm tired of hurting so much. I'm too tired to fight anymore'_ just before he started doing sniper breathing.

Jules was the first to come out of a shocked stupor and had knelt close to him and called his name. Ed had focused on the pile of items on Matt's grave wanting to kneel close but unable. Spike, Greg and Wordy had gone close and slowly knelt around him as Jules continued to call to him.

Leah held back unsure if she should intrude. She had only really worked with Sam for two weeks and felt out of place. It was too intense watching someone as strong as Sam completely break.

When Sam had responded to Jules' calls and opened his eyes they were all shocked by the utter depth of sadness and weariness in his bloodshot eyes. But they closed so quickly again not to reopen even as Jules asked.

Spike was able to remove the gun from his hand without resistance. Greg and Wordy had sat him up. Sam had complied wordlessly as the guys stood him up.

But Sam refused to open his eyes so they had to hold him and guide him the whole way as they walked him to the minivan. Jules continued to whisper to him to maintain the connection Sam seemed to desperately need.

Sam said nothing the entire way back to his apartment. He only leaned close to Jules as if he was following a sirens call. Again he allowed them to guide him here so long as he could hear Jules.

When Jules stopped talking to take a quick sip of water Sam's breathing became rapid until Jules started speaking again. Wordy and Jules had taken Sam to his room. The rest of the team went in the family room area and waited.

The silence had gotten so heavy after Wordy's question you could almost see it.

Greg rubbed his eyes. He thought 'eyes' is that what finally broke him. Sighing deeply he finally spoke into the void of silence "We all wanted him back so badly. We saw what we wanted to see. We didn't see he was hurting inside."

Spike sat in the swivel chair and his knee started bouncing rapidly his voice imprinted with regret and anger "We did this to him. We pushed him too hard. Too fast."

"Wordy is Jules coming out soon?" Ed asked with a hard edge to it. The anger was directed at himself but it still reflected in his voice.

Wordy understood where Ed's anger was coming from so ignored the tone and answered sadly "No. Sam seems to still need her voice right now. He's quiet if she talks to him. Gets restless if she stops." Wordy blew out a breath. "What are we going to do?"

Greg looked at them all seeing the same pain he was feeling reflected in all their faces "We are going to do whatever is necessary to bring him back. Team's off rotation for two weeks given Ed's and Spike's injuries. We will be here for him. I'll call Dawn in the morning too."

"This is entirely my fault. I left him high and dry without backup tonight." Ed grated out, rage barely contained needing to pace but unable. "Make that high and wet without backup. I should have gone up when he first said he had a problem. Hell I should have gone up after the first hour. But I didn't. I let the fact that he always comes through for us color my judgement tonight when he needed me most."

Spike couldn't sit anymore and paced in a circle "Why did he have trouble with his eyes tonight? They've been clear for weeks. Why tonight? What was different?"

"Maybe it was fatigue. Can't be easy to focus through a scope for more than four hours. That first night he was back in his apartment he told us it was harder to focus when his eyes were tired" Wordy offered softly as he stared out Sam's window.

Ed slammed his fists on the couch several times "Dammit. If I had just relieved him sooner."

Blowing out a breath Greg shook his head "I don't know. He was okay for so long. Ed you checked on him regularly."

"A whole hell of lot a good that did? I'm the one that didn't want to put him in Sierra One and what did I do? I put him in Sierra One" Ed bit out bitterly.

"Easy Eddie. It's not your fault" Greg said trying to calm Ed.

Ed glared at Greg with one eyebrow raised and snarled "Like hell it's not my fault. I'm the TL, it's my job. My job to protect the team. And what did I do? I ran into Spike causing his shoulder injury and this." He waved at his own knee "Leaving Sam no backup, in a position he clearly wasn't ready for. The stress of it causing him to do … this … God dammit. Why the hell did he do this?"

He couldn't sit anymore and grabbed the crutches and stamped back and forth angrily.

Wordy looked at Ed feeling so many emotions for two good friends both in pain right now. Right now he could only help Ed so he walked in front of Ed preventing him from moving more.

He placed a hand on both shoulders and said firmly "Your anger is not helping Ed. We need to understand what happened to find a way to help him. Blaming ourselves or each other isn't going to help Sam. So stow it for now. Sit down before you do more damage to your knee."

It was a glaring match for several minutes. Finally Ed blew out a ragged breath and sat down. Wordy sat next to him.

Needing to get them focused on helping Greg asked "Wordy's right we need to understand what brought him to the breaking point. What was it he said to you on the roof again Ed?"

Ed leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he searched his mind for the exact words "He said: _I shouldn't be here. I'm a liability to the team._ "

Wordy pulled the note Sam left in the locker out of his pocket "The note says almost the same thing, it says: _I'm sorry I failed you today. I'm a liability to your safety. You deserve someone you can count on to protect you. I don't belong here now. I'm tired, so tired of failing._ "

Pacing Spike added "When we found him at Matt's grave he said: _I'm tired of hurting so much. I'm too tired to fight anymore._ "

Spike stopped and picked up Beauty. He turned it on, no sound.

"I think he tried to help himself. But Beauty is dead. I should have transferred it to a newer model" Spike said glumly and resumed pacing angry with himself for not doing so and mulling over the words Sam said and left for them.

Greg sat dejectedly. He had to think this through. Dawn said Sam was having trouble accepting things were not his fault. Did she know how close to the edge Sam was?

No. If she did she wouldn't have said he was fit for duty. Dammit Sam, I thought you trusted her. Greg's anger at Sam surged thinking he had hidden things and bullshitted his way past Dawn too. He slammed his fist on the desk jarring everyone.

"Sorry" he said distractedly as he rubbed his face briskly and returned to his internal deliberation.

No. No he didn't. The anger ebbed out of Greg. Sam was honest with Dawn. It was more likely Sam just didn't know how close to the edge he really was. Sam had coped better than most would but he had reached the edge without knowing he was so close. Sam couldn't see the edge. Eyes, it came down to seeing both literally and metaphorically.

Spike stopped pacing, tears puddled in the corners of his eyes threatening to fall. Emotion nearly choking off his words he rasped out "We need to help him see that he belongs here and he did not fail us. If anything we failed him tonight. We failed to protect him. I will NOT standby doing nothing again and lose another brother."

Greg saw Spike was about to lose it completely. He stood and pulled him close and resolutely stated "Faremo capire come salvare il nostro fratello. Non lasciarlo cadere. Troveremo un modo per fermare il male. Se è troppo stanco per combattere ci batteremo per lui fino a che non è abbastanza forte per combattere per se stesso."

Wordy looked at Greg and asked "What did you tell Spike?"

Clearing his throat easing the constriction Greg said "We will figure out how to save our brother. We will not let him fall. We will find a way to stop the hurting. If he is too tired to fight we will fight for him until he is strong enough to fight for himself again."

Everyone nodded in agreement as the words resonated with each. Not sure yet how to proceed but they all knew they would figure it out.

Spike was not sure what to do but he needed to see Sam. Briskly he walked to Sam's room. He stopped abruptly in the doorway. Peering in for several moments then he closed the door. Spike went to sit down in Sam's swivel chair. The others looked at him puzzled by his actions.

Softly Greg asked "Spike?"

Spike looked over to Greg dazed "What?"

"Why did you close the door?" Greg asked.

The image Spike had just seen was touching but very private. Sam was curled on his side with his head in Jules' lap. He heard Sam's quiet sobs and saw his shoulders lightly shaking. Tears were flowing silent from Jules' eyes as she comforted him gently stroking his hair and caressing his face.

Spike's throat constricted and he choked out "Jules knows what to do to help him for right now."

Ed went to get up "Eddie stay put. Let Jules handle it for now. If she needs our help she'll ask for it" Greg said firmly as he went to the couch and sat down.

"Like she did after the redheaded bitch?" Ed said softly to no one in particular.

All the guys nodded. Wordy rose needing to pace himself now as the memories of that incident reasserted themselves in his brain. They almost lost him that day too.

Leah was at a loss at what Ed meant by his statement but decided it did not matter at the moment. She had been sitting silently watching mostly forgotten by the others. They were all focused on the suicide attempt and wondering how to help him. Important, but something was niggling at the back of her mind. She was still stuck on Spike's question why tonight, what happened to cause his vision to blur?

Breaking the silence and out of left field Leah exclaimed "The stairs."

Ed whipped his head toward her surprised, forgetting that Leah was even there "What do you mean the stairs?"

"I saw Sam hit his head on the bottom step" she said quietly.

"What?" Wordy asked coming to stop next to Leah and staring at her.

Shifting a little uncomfortably under the four men's intense gazes "I was just wondering what caused his vision to get blurry. Like Spike said it has been weeks since he had the problem. He got the A-ok from the SRU optometrist too. So why tonight? When he fell down the stairs with the second subject he hit his head hard on the bottom step."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ed belted out reproachfully.

"Maybe I should have said something but I didn't think anything of it until now. He seemed fine and he was off so fast to get into position when Greg said we needed Sierra One and you told him to go Ed" Leah countered defensively.

Wordy placed a reassuring hand on Leah's shoulder then looked at Ed and Spike "Did he get checked out by EMS before SIU took him?"

Both answered angrily "No."

Greg immediately went to Sam's room. He knocked softly to let Jules know he was entering. He opened the door. What he saw touched him deeply. There was something about these two. A genuine connection.

Jules looked up completely drained emotionally. Dried tear streaks on her face "Shhh he finally fell asleep" Jules said in a soft, raw, uneven, overused voice.

Greg turned on the light and strode to the bed. He noticed the bruising above and around his left eye they had not seen in the dim lighting at the cemetery. Not wanting to wake him but needing to see Greg gently shook Sam's shoulder "Sam. I need you to open your eyes buddy."

Glaring at Greg, Jules croaked out "He needs rest. Don't wake him."

Ignoring her he continued gently shaking his shoulder to wake Sam. Jules put her hand on Greg's to stop him. Greg realized she didn't understand why. "Jules it is important. Leah said he hit his head tonight. He was having trouble seeing. We need to wake him."

Jules leaned over and near his ear softly just barely a whisper said "Sam. I need you to wake up for me. Just for a little bit. Can you open your eyes for me? Please. It's important. Open your eyes for me."

Sam's eyes opened at her request. In the bright light of the room both saw his left eye and gasped.

The gasps brought the other members of the team into the room. Spike took one look at Sam's eye and his own eyes widened in disbelief "My god! What the hell happened? Was it like that in the cemetery?"

Leaning close to Sam's face Wordy inspected his left eye. The entire white of his eye was blood red.

Urgently Wordy said "Greg call EMS, he needs to be checked now. I've seen something like this before. The hemorrhaging could be a few things some innocuous but if it is a detached retina he needs help now."

Wordy shivered at the image of Shel's blood red eyes the night he discovered her ex-husband abused her. Her ex had slammed Shel's head on the ground. Luckily for Shel it was only a subconjunctival hemorrhage. But Wordy remembered all the things the doctor said it could be before they finished the exam.

Greg took out his phone and dialed "We need EMS, SRU officer with head injury."

He gave them the details and Sam's address. The Greg asked Leah to wait for EMS down stairs and bring them up when they got here. She nodded and hurried out.

Sam became aware he was in his room surrounded by the team. He was confused. The last thing he clearly remembered was sitting on the roof next to Ed after taking the shot.

How did he get here? Why were they here? He saw them blurry through a red haze. "Why? How?"

They all saw the confusion on his face and in his voice.

Memory of what he tried to do filtered in. Aw crap. Sam didn't realize just how F.I.N.E. he was until right now.

The team all saw comprehension of what he had almost done and then fear of rejection cross Sam's face.

Ed sat on the bed and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder "Samo, you're tired just rest now buddy, rest now."

Spike moved in close "You don't have to fight alone. We are here for you."

Jules brushed through his hair "Sam thank you for protecting me today."

Wordy sat on the other side of Sam and placed a hand on his leg "Buddy, we know you hurt. Let us help."

Greg moved close putting and arm around Spike's shoulder and a hand on Wordy's. Wordy put his hand on and Jules shoulder. Ed reached out and put his hand on Jules other shoulder. Jules continued stroke Sam's hair but moved her other hand to Ed's shoulder. Spike wrapped one arm around Greg and reached out for Ed's other shoulder.

Lying curled on his side his head in Jules' lap Sam was enclosed in a tight protective circle of his SRU family. United. Solid. Strong. Team. Family.

Greg looked at each of them then stopped his gaze on Sam then said emphatically "We are sorry we failed you today. That we put you at risk and you were hurt. You deserve to be protected too. We are family. When one hurts, we all hurt. When one falls we pick them up. We are stronger together. We are not letting you go. You belong here."

* * *

 _ **Five Weeks Later – Bridgelife Rehab Facility – Saturday 4:00 pm**_

"Boss, the subject just released the hostage but now has the gun to his own head. I've got the solution" Sam called out within seconds of setting up the Remi.

He settled in to wait scanning the area for useful information to feed to the team. It was good to be back, really back this time.

Ongoing therapy was helping. Team One and Dawn had fought for him until he was strong enough to fight for himself again. They never let him fall. They brought him back from the edge. Some very deep wounds were finally starting to heal and the hurt was lessening. They had helped him get his head on straight again.

His eyes were also back in tiptop condition. Luckily it was only a small vitreous hemorrhage. The impact on the stairs had caused the blood vessels in the back of his eye to bleed. The leakage of blood into the vitreous humor caused the blurriness and reddish tint to his vision.

The doctor easily fixed it with laser treatment. It took a few weeks for the blood to completely clear which was okay with him. It gave him more time to get his head on straight and lots of time to spend with Ben. God that boy was such a kick, so like his dad.

"Hold. Jules is on the way" Greg called out. He shared a quick look with Ed.

Before they could speak Spike called out "Boss, eyes in. Awful picture quality, grainy and oh Crap."

Greg was outside the command truck, he pulled the door open and was entering as he said "What is it Spike?"

"Boss, it is Leo" Spike said stunned. Jules, Wordy and Leah stopped running up the stairs for a moment.

Jules' shocked voice said "Spike you mean Leo Patel?"

Ed and Greg were now looking at the monitors with Spike just as stunned.

Greg called out "Yes Jules. Are you almost there?"

Picking up the pace Jules called out "Two more flights."

Greg turned to Ed they muted the headsets. Ed said "Greg, this just went from bad to worse. Potential Suicide. Ex-SRU. JTF2. How many triggers do you think there could there for Sam? Should I bench him?"

"Not yet, let's see what information Jules gets from the floor nurse" Greg responded.

Greg thought 'triggers' interesting word for them to use with regard to their sniper. But it was the term Dr. Tansy had used. Sam had invited him to join a few sessions to discuss his transition back to the team.

Then he, Ed and Sam sat down and had several long conversations establishing guidelines for his return. One guideline was that Sam would accept without question being benched if either Greg or Ed felt he could be compromised in a situation. Sam had agreed to the condition.

Ed nodded to Greg then he unmuted and asked "Samo you okay?"

He asked Sam that a lot lately. Hell everyone on the team did. They all kept a very close watch on Sam. The funny thing about it was Sam didn't seem to balk much about it like he had in the past. Sam seemed to accept it more readily.

Sam even accepted without question the three times this week he had benched him. Greg told him to back off a bit and insisted that he was being over-protective now. But Ed didn't care. It was Sam's first week back and Ed was damned sure he was not going to lose Sam. If he had to bench him a dozen times he would.

The intense guilt he had over leaving Sam on that rooftop injured for four hours still had not abated. He still also felt directly responsible for driving him to the breaking point. The last time he benched him, Sam had laughed and said Ed should book a few sessions with Dr. Tansy, she was great at helping people deal with unresolved guilt for things that were out of their control. It was good to see Sam's sense of humor restored.

As Sam rolled his eyes at Ed's question he glad Ed could not see him. He was being very over-protective. Sam could now see how Jules felt about him being over-protective of her. It was a bit stifling at times, but at the same time it felt nice knowing Ed cared.

Sam answered "Yeah Ed, I'm good." Then he asked "Is this the same Leo that was my first replacement? The one that went back to Special Forces?"

"Yes" Ed answered flatly.

Sam looked through the scope and re-scanned the area. Leo was sitting in a chair in the back corner with the gun to his temple. Sam saw he had a lost, hopeless look in his cloudy, unfocused eyes. He saw the white cane with a red tip next to him. He sucked in a breath.

"Sam?" Ed immediately called out hearing the intake of breath.

"I'm okay Ed" was Sam's immediate response not wanting Ed to worry.

Sam couldn't bring himself to call Leo 'the subject' now so he said "It's just Leo is in the far back corner in a chair. Guys he's lost. He's hurting. Probably doesn't see a future. We need to help him."

Greg was looking at the monitors. The quality was poor. The only camera angle they had only showed him from the shoulders up from the side. "Sam what makes you say that? Our angle is bad, doesn't show much. Spike only recognized him when he briefly turned his head."

Training his eye on Leo's face he said "I can see it in his eyes, his face. But mostly because I can see he's lost his vision. He's blind he has a white cane with a red tip next to him. You said that he left SRU and went back to the military because that was where he fit. Well he's lost that now. So…"

Ed's glare at Greg clearly said 'bench him now or I will'. Greg shook his head definitively.

Defying Greg, Ed called out "Sam, coming to you. Benched." Ed raced from the truck to Sam's position.

As Ed was enroute Jules informed them "The nurse says Leo arrived here five days ago for transitional living training. He was blinded in an explosion. His retina's detached and they were unable to repair them. She says he had been depressed and unwilling to participate in therapy. A buddy came to visit him today. That is where he got the gun. Boss, do you want me to engage or are you?"

Greg was headed out of the truck as Sam approached. He could see he was pissed but Sam was following through on his commitment to accept it without questioning.

"Jules, Sam and I are heading in now" Greg stated.

Sam's head snapped up at that and he looked to Greg who just gave him a small smile and slight nod of his head to follow. Sam grabbed his MP5 and followed quickly.

Ed bit his tongue. He wouldn't contradict Greg on this now but later they were going to have words privately. He saw what Sam had seen and it was distressing. Ed thought another failure to add to his personal list, it was growing too fast lately. The team's behavior had driven Leo to reactivate. Christ he was gonna have to book a few session with Dr. Tansy at this rate of guilt trips he was taking.

Greg, Sam and Wordy approached. From a distance Greg called out "Leo its Greg Parker. Can we talk? I'd like to help."

Leo flinched at the voice "There's nothing to talk about. Just go away."

Greg tried again "Leo if you put the gun down we can help. Do you want to tell me how you …"

"GO AWAY I don't want to talk to you. YOU cannot understand" Leo raged.

Greg tried several more times and it was evident that he was not connecting. Greg looked to Sam. He did well with the military guys. Was he up to this? Negotiation was not his strong suit. If he tried and it went badly would it trigger Sam?

Sam had been watching, listening. He sucked at negotiation but he thought he might just be the right one to connect with Leo. Quietly he whispered "Boss, let me try."

Over the headset Ed said "No. I benched you."

Sam looked at Greg. His eyes pleaded for him to say yes, let him try.

Greg said quietly "Ok Sam. I have confidence in you." What he left unsaid was if this goes south I will insist on Dawn's clearance before you return to shift.

Sam called out "Leo, my name is Sam Braddock with SRU. Can …"

"Braddock? Sam Braddock?" Leo asked stunned.

Sam looked to Greg. He nodded go ahead. Sam answered "Yes Sam Braddock. You are Leo Patel right?"

Leo nodded "Braddock as in son of General Badass Braddock. The Sam Braddock I replaced?"

"Yeah that's me" Sam answered.

"How? I mean you reactivated. You had five years. How are you with SRU again?" he asked.

Sam explained briefly how that transpired. Greg noted that Leo's posture was relaxing as Sam spoke.

"So that about covers it. I hear you reactivated. What unit were you with? Who was your CO?" Sam asked.

Leo started to talk. Over the course of the next half hour Sam had gotten Leo to relax and the gun was now in his lap instead of at his head but he wasn't willing to hand it over.

"So you see Sam, you understand without my eyes I'm nothing. I'm a sniper. It's what I'm good at. I mean what I was good at." The gun started to rise again.

"Leo you are not only a sniper. Every JTF2 soldier is cross-trained in other skills. What were other things you liked to do?" Sam tried hoping to see the gun drop again.

Leo shook his head "Nothing I could do without my eyes?" The gun rose to the temple again.

Sam took several steps forward. In his ear he heard Ed telling him to get back. He ignored him. "Leo please put the gun down."

"But I have nothing to live for. You can't understand that. It hurts so much. I just want the pain to end. But you all-mighty Badass Jr. wouldn't know anything about losing what's important to you. You really have no idea what it is like for a sniper to lose his sight. I just want to die" Leo said despondently.

Sam closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. "That's where you would be wrong Leo. I know exactly how that feels." He shared his story.

As he concluded Sam said "… friends and family are what get you through. Leo if you will allow me I'd like to help. JTF2 regardless of unit, we are like family, we always have each other's back. Same with SRU. I know how hard it is. But I know some great guys that are willing to help. Please let me help you find the beauty of life again."

Leo lowered the gun and held it out to Sam. Sam took the gun and handed off to Wordy. Then he embraced Leo as he broke down into sobs. Over his headset Sam heard the team all congratulate him on a successful outcome.

The last comment was from Greg "Nice work Sam. You fought for him until he was strong enough to fight for himself."

.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed the journey and spending time in my version FP world. If this is the first story of mine you have read and liked my style, check out my profile page for details on my other FP stories if interested._

 _As always comments or reviews are appreciated._ _Would love to hear what you liked or didn't like in this story to help guide me in future ones._


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